A High School Story
by Imena Tanaka
Summary: Basically I wanted to do a Rhonda x Sid high school story since it's hard to find a fanfiction with Rhonda not being the antagonist and I like RhondaxSid. Summary: P.S. 118 students have grown up and paired off with one another. Except for Rhonda. Hopefully that will change soon. Rating T but can change to M if I feel like it. Changed from T to M rating.
1. Chapter 1

Rhonda made her way through the halls and savored the looks that she got from her peers. She was only a sophomore, but she felt as if she had already made her mark as the school's princess. As cliche as it sounded, all the guys wanted to date her and all the girls wanted to be her.

"Hey Rhonda!" a familiar voice called out from behind.

Rhonda turned around and flashed a stunning smile. "Good morning, Nadine!" she said cheerfully. She was in a good mood lately especially because homecoming was in a few weeks and she had already been showered with hundreds of homecoming asks.

"Did Logan ask you to the dance yet?" her blond best friend asked.

"Yeah, he did. But I told him no," Rhonda answered simply.

"But why? I thought you guys were a thing!"

"Because, Nadine, he asked me via text and a guy who does that isn't worth my time," Rhonda said, rolling her eyes. "Anyhow, I might just end up going stag anyways. I don't know if I want a date slowing me down."

Nadine chuckled. "Oh Rhonda. If you say so."

The two headed off to their first class which they happened to have together. Nadine was talking about how Peapod had asked her out and she was really excited. Rhonda was happy for her best friend. Peapod and Nadine had a thing since elementary school, which was unbelievably cute. Actually, now that Rhonda thought about it, a lot of the P.S. 118 kids had paired up. Phoebe and Gerald, obviously were a thing as they had always been since 4th grade. Stinky and Lila had finally started dating their freshman year, and only because Lila had the guts to ask him. Harold and Patty were technically not together yet but everyone knew they were a thing. Eugene and Sheena had been going out since middle school, much to everyone's surprise as they all thought he was gay. Heck, even Helga and Arnold were together! Who would've thought?

Rhonda sighed as she thought about her long-time classmates. She, herself, has already gone through multiple relationships that had all gone down in flames. She had dated stupid players who had cheated on her, dumb jocks who couldn't tie their own shoes, and creepy perverts who were only interested in having sex. Where were all the nice guys? At this rate, she might even consider going out with... Curly. She shuddered at the thought.

She sat down in her seat which was unfortunately, across the room from Nadine's seat. The only other person she knew in the class was Sid who happened to sit next to her.

"Hi Rhonda," he said with his goofy smile. He had grown a lot since elementary school. He still wore a green cap and a leather jacket, but he had grown to be taller than Rhonda who was already 5"6. He also had gotten more handsome and was quite popular with the ladies.

"Morning, Sid," she said, returning his smile.

"Figured out who you were going to homecoming yet?" he asked casually.

"I've decided to go alone," she admitted.

"What? What happened to Liam?"

"Logan," she corrected. "And he turned out to be a loser."

"That sucks," he said, leaning back into his chair. "Maybe we should go together. Though I already told Irene I would go with her."

"Irene Sandoval?" she gasped. "She's like way out of your league! No offense."

Sid chuckled. "None taken."

"You definitely should go with her! I'd be fine on my own!"

"Oh... if you say so," he said. It might have been her imagination but he sounded somewhat disappointed.

Before they could talk about anything else, their teacher began to start the class.

Mr. Wallace, their teacher, was really boring. It wasn't his fault really, as math was an incredibly boring subject, but Rhonda could not help but let her mind wander off instead of learning about the area of a parallelogram.

An hour later, class had finally ended and Rhonda sighed with relief.

"Rhonda, did you take any notes? Because I totally zoned out," Sid admitted as they were leaving the classroom together.

"Uh..." Rhonda said, shyly, not wanting to admit that she had zoned out as well.

"Well, let's hope that Nadine paid attention because I think we have a test this Friday," Sid chuckled in response.

"Ye-"

Rhonda was stopped as she saw a hulking figure that was standing outside the classroom door. "Yo Rhonda, babe. Are we going to homecoming together or not?"

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Not, because somebody had the audacity to ask me with only a lousy text message that read 'Homecoming?' that's why!" she scolded the football player.

"Fine," Logan puffed. "I'll just ask someone else to homecoming, bitch." He then stormed off to who knows where.

"Boy howdy, what's his deal?" asked Sid, who had witnessed the entire scene.

"He's dumb and that's why I'm not dating him anymore," said Rhonda.

"His loss, really."

"Thanks, Sid."

Sid had wanted to sit with his friends Stinky and Harold for lunch, but Irene had dragged him over to a separate table to talk about homecoming. He tried to argue that homecoming was a long way from now and that they could talk about it later, but she wasn't having any of that.

"So, I was thinking that I was going to wear a scarlet dress because it really looks good on my skin tone. So you'll probably have to wear a black suit with a red tie or bow tie or something. But just in case, just wait for me to text you after I go shopping to know what to wear," Irene droned on and on.

"Uhhuh, whatever you say, babe," Sid would say at random intervals to act like he was paying attention. The girl was fucking hot, but she was also fucking boring too.

He wondered what Rhonda would be wearing to the dance. She would look good in anything, though red was definitely her color. He had liked her since elementary school, but never dared to say anything. Instead he tried to date as many girls as he could, but none of them compared to the princess herself. If Irene was out of his league, then Rhonda Wellington Lloyd was in another universe. He had decided to just be her friend. Who knows? Maybe ten years from now if she hadn't married a billionaire yet, he could swoop in and ask her out. But for now, he would be there for her as a friend.

"Are you listening, Sid?" a voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Huh.. yeah.. you were deciding between wedges or heels," he guessed.

"Oh, right. Thanks. So wedges are totally cute and more comfortable but heels will send a bolder message..."

Ugh.. could that girl talk and talk. "Oh! Sorry Irene, I just remembered something that I had to do, I'll text you later," Sid said, trying to get away as fast as he could.

"Okay! Bye! You better not forget to text me! We have a lot to plan!" she shouted out after him.

He didn't reply and dashed out of the cafeteria. He didn't have anywhere to go but he couldn't let her know that he was running away from her. Because he wasn't paying attention, he ran into a person and fell onto the ground.

"Watch it!" they had said.

"Oh.. sorry.." Sid looked up and saw that the person he had run into was Rhonda.

"Oh, it's okay, Sid. Are you alright?" she asked and offered him a hand up.

He took it and hoped that she didn't notice how nervous he was to be touching her hand. "I-I'm fine," he stammered.

"What were you doing, running out of the cafeteria like that?" she asked curiously.

"I was trying to get away from Irene... Ugh... I regret asking her to the dance."

Rhonda placed a sympathetic arm on his shoulder. "It won't be that bad. Besides, it must be lightweight compared to what I would do to my date," she giggled. "I would be all over them about what to wear and what corsage to get me."

Sid smiled. "But you're different. You're fun and don't make me want to stab myself in the ears when you talk."

"Please, you wouldn't last an hour with me if you were my date," she teased.

"I'd like to give it a try," he flirted back.

Then the two of them began laughing together. Man, this was why he was crazy about her. She wasn't as shallow and bitchy as everyone would have expected. She was real and funny and beautiful and interesting.

Suddenly, Irene had walked out of the cafeteria and had saw the two of them laughing together. "Sid!? I thought you said you had something to do... Is she your something?" she asked angrily as she approached them.

"Uh... Well... I..." Sid stammered, unsure of what to say now.

"Sid and I have chemistry together so we have to come up with a project. It's due next week so if you don't mind, we really need to discuss. He'll be all yours later, okay?" Rhonda lied, trying to smooth over the tension.

Irene seemed unconvinced but couldn't prove that she was lying. "I see... Okay, just let me know when you're done," she said, eyeing the two suspiciously. She then left to go wherever she was heading for in the first place.

Once she was more than an earshot away, Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Jeez..." she sighed. "Well I can't blame her. Most girls would freak out if they saw their boyfriends talking to me."

"I'm not her boyfriend," Sid scoffed. "I don't think I even want to be her date anymore."

Rhonda patted his shoulder. "Maybe you should tell her then," she suggested. "It's better to tell her now while she still has time to find another date."

Sid sighed. He didn't want to deal with that kind of confrontation but he really didn't want to deal with Irene anymore either. "We'll see..."

"Anyways, I promised I would sit with Nadine for lunch so I'll see you later," said Rhonda. She gave him a friendly wave and headed towards the cafeteria.

Finally Sid was a free man. He also went back to the cafeteria and went to look for his friends. He quickly found Harold and Stinky at their usual table. Arnold and Gerald also happened to be sitting there today.

"Hey guys," said Sid as he grabbed one of the few remaining seats at the table. "What's up?"

"Hey Sid. What are you doing here on the account that Irene was gonna talk to you about homecoming?" his best friend Stinky asked.

"Yeah! What happened to your GIRLFRIEND?" Harold shouted rather obnoxiously.

"What about you guys? Why don't you sit with your girlfriends?" Sid retorted, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, I'm thinking of not going to homecoming with Irene anymore."

"What?!" the entire exclaimed in shock.

"But Sid! You were bragging about how you were going out with one of the hottest girls in the school!" Arnold added.

"But Sid! It's Irene Smoking Hot Sandoval!" Gerald said at the same time.

"But she's just so much fucking work," Sid sighed to demonstrate how tired he was of the girl. "I'm better off going to the dance alone."

"Sid, if you do that, you'll be the only one of us who doesn't have a date on account of me taking Miss Lila, Harold taking Miss Patty, Arnold taking Miss Helga, and Gerald taking Miss Phoebe," said Stinky, rattling off the name of every P.S. 118 couple he could think of.

"Don't forget Sheena and Eugene!" chimed Harold.

"Why thank you, Harold."

"Well... Rhonda is going stag," Sid argued.

The guys all began to wiggle their eyebrows and smile. "Oh... that's what it's all about," Gerald teased.

"What?" demanded Sid.

"Nothing. We just think that maybe you still have a thing for Miss Rhonda," said Stinky.

"W-what?" Sid's face began to redden. "We're just friends!"

"Admit it, Sid! YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH RHONDA," laughed Harold.

Sid quickly covered Harold's mouth and prayed that no one in the room had heard him. "Shut up, Harold! Do you want the entire fucking school to know?"

"M-maybe I do have a thing for Rhonda. So what? Half the school does anyways! It's not a big deal and I'm not going to do anything about it so whatever!"

"I don't know, Sid. I think that maybe you should tell her. It'd be better if she knew how you felt. Maybe she would even feel the same way. It worked for me and Helga," advised Arnold the wise.

"Just because it worked for you and Helga doesn't mean it'll work for me!" Sid argued back. "I just... don't want to ruin our friendship over a stupid one-sided crush."

"Okay, we understand," said Arnold. "Come on guys, let's not bother Sid anymore about this and talk about something else."

Sid sighed with relief and appreciated that Arnold had changed the subject to respect his feelings. He was doing a lot of sighing today but it was a particularly stressful day. He also had to find a way to break it to Irene that he didn't want to go to Homecoming with her anymore... That was going to suck.


	2. Chapter 2

Homecoming was in a week and Sid still hadn't told Irene that he didn't want to go with her anymore. But it was already too late as she had already arranged what they were going to wear and decided the corsage that he was to give her and made reservations for pre-homecoming dinner and called for a limo to drive them around. All of which was going to be super expensive and probably use up all the money that Sid had been saving to buy a car. On the other hand, the planning was finally done so he wouldn't need to talk to Irene until the night of homecoming.

He had decided to spend his first free weekend with the guys. He felt like he never got to see them anymore and they all shared the same sentiments. They had all decided to meet up at the arcade for old time sake.

When Sid arrived, he saw that Harold and Stinky were already there. Harold was the only one with a car and license while everyone else only had their permit and had to take the bus.

"Hey Sid!" Stinky said while waving. "We missed you, buddy."

"Yeah hey Sid! Finally done planning your homecoming with your girlfriend?" teased Harold. His personality has not changed as much as his appearance. He was still larger than their classmates but he had gotten braces in middle school to fix his jaunting lower tooth and had decided to wear clothes that actually fit him.

"Shut up, Harold," Sid said, rolling his eyes. He was tired of Harold's 'girlfriend' joke.

It wasn't long until Arnold and Gerald had arrived so they were all there. After exchanging some greetings, they all headed inside the arcade to play some games.

Meanwhile the girls had gotten together to find dresses for the dance. They had met up at Rhonda's place so they could take her family's limo to the mall. "Alright girls, game time! There are a lot of other girls in the mall looking for the perfect dress and we will need to fight them to get it at the best price!" rallied Rhonda. "Has everyone read through the list of what everyone else is looking for in a dress?"

This was their agreed strategy during this stressful but fun time of dress shopping. Each girl had listed the colors, size, and type of dress that they were looking for, along with their budget. This allowed them to divide and conquer. They could hit up more stores and be able to know if another girl would be interested in a dress that they had found. Perhaps this was a bit overkill, but every girl knows that dress shopping for homecoming was a big deal only second to shopping for prom.

When they arrived, they all made a break for it. They hit the first store like a storm. After about thirty minutes, they had decided that there was nothing of interest and quickly made their way to the next store. This continued with an occasional "Hey Phoebe! I think I found a dress you'd like!" or a "Helga! Cute pink dress at 11 o' clock!"

Twenty seven stores and six hours later, everyone had found a dress. Except Rhonda. "Come on, princess," Helga groaned. "Just pick something already. It's not like you have anyone to impress."

"Excuse me? Because I am going stag, I have to impress everyone in the room," Rhonda scoffed. "I'll just custom-order one from Milan or something so don't worry about me."

Everyone else was satisfied with their choices. Phoebe had gotten a short, baby blue dress with an illusion neckline and open back. Helga had chosen a pastel pink high-low dress with sequins. Nadine had chosen a classy jade dress with gold sequins on the shoulders. Patty had chosen a navy chiffon dress with lace. And Lila had chosen a light green strapless dress with a silver sequins belt. One could imagine how beautiful they all looked.

They were all hungry after the long day of shopping so they decided to hit Big Al's. They happened to run into the boys who were there after hanging out at the arcade all day.

"Hey! The girls are here!" said Gerald with a smile. He walked up to his lovely Japanese girlfriend and gave her a hug. "What have you been up to, babe?"

"The girls and I were going dress shopping," Phoebe said, slightly blushing at their public display of affection.

"Man, I bet you'll look incredible in your dress," Gerald said before leaning in for a kiss.

"Howdy Miss Lila," said Stinky as he scooted over to leave his girlfriend some room to sit next to him. "I sure can't wait to see you at homecoming."

"Oh Stinky, that was an ever so nice thing to say," Lila giggled.

Arnold smiled as Helga also took a seat next to him. "Well? Aren't you gonna go on about how excited you are to see me in a stupid dress, Football-head?" she sneered.

"Of course, my love, of course. I am very excited," Arnold said, his smile never leaving his face.

Patty shyly walked up to Harold who was scratching his head. "Uh.. Hi Patty," he said awkwardly.

"Hi Harold," she returned. "Can... I sit with you?"

"Of course..."

Sid couldn't wait to tease Harold later to get back at him for all the teasing that he had done to him. But he'd have to wait when Big Patty wasn't there. He didn't want to get beat up by a girl in front of everyone. He was so busy being amused by Harold's awkwardness that he failed to notice that Rhonda had taken a seat next to him.

"Hey Sid," she said with a smile. Nadine was sitting next to Rhonda and gave the boy a friendly wave as well.

"Oh hey girls," Sid said. "Did you also find a dress?"

"Well, I did but Rhonda didn't," admitted Nadine.

"Why not?" asked Sid curiously though he probably already knew the answer.

"I guess nothing caught my eye," Rhonda answered.

"I keep telling her not to be so picky! It's already enough that she doesn't have a date, but what if she doesn't have a dress either?" Nadine sighed.

"I'll be fine, Nadine," Rhonda assured her best friend. "I would look good wearing a potato sack. But please, don't dare me to do that."

"So do you know what Irene is wearing to the dance?" Rhonda asked, changing the subject.

"Uh... it's red... and tight..." said Sid, who was clearly not very good with describing women's clothing.

"Probably a body con dress," Rhonda mused. "Sounds sexy. You'll be sure to have a good time."

"If I don't kill myself before then," Sid rolled his eyes.

"Irene isn't that bad, is she?" asked Nadine.

"Let's just say that after homecoming, I never want anything to do with her ever again," said Sid.

The subject was soon dropped entirely as everyone stopped their private conversations among each other. They somehow managed to fit eleven people on one table and began to order food. It was rare for all of them to be in the same place since high school started but it was nice.

Once they were done chatting and eating, the girls had gone home with their boyfriends and Nadine had already gotten a ride home from her mom, so that left Sid and Rhonda alone.

"I really don't feel like going home yet," Rhonda sighed. She looked up at the moonlit sky and let the breeze flow through her hair. "Everyone looks so happy, Sid. I just wish I had something like that. Do you think I just attract bad guys? Maybe there is something wrong with me."

Shocked by the Rhonda's sudden confession, it took him a moment too long to reply.

"It's okay, Sid. You don't have to come up with a lie just to comfort me... I just feel so alone... I don't even know why I'm telling you this." She tried to laugh it off, but Sid could tell that she was really upset.

"N-no! I want you to be able to talk to me if you're feeling like this. I want to be there for you," said Sid, finally finding his words. "And you're amazing, Rhonda, don't think otherwise. Sure, there'll be a lot of crappy guys along the way, but I know you'll find someone that deserves you! Because you're beautiful and smart and funny and caring! Because even though you could have gone to some fancy private high school, you chose to stay with your friends. Because even though all the other kids are jealous of you and try to bring you down, you continue to shine without losing your confidence. Because you have changed so much since you were that bratty princess who made fun of geeks like me. Because there is no one in this fucking world who is quite like you!"

There was a deafening silence. Sid could hear his own heart racing after his proclamation. Why did he say that? No, it had to be said. She had to know that it wasn't her fault and that she was amazing. But this was the worst part, the silence. What was she thinking? Had she finally realized his feelings for her? Would she shun him for it?

"Sid..." said Rhonda, finally breaking the silence. Without saying another word, she leaned over towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was so close to him that he could hear her heart pounding. "No one had ever said anything like that to me before..."

Sid hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. He wanted to stay like this forever. If a meteor came down to earth and struck him right now, he would be fine with it. This moment with her was enough.

"Did you mean it?" she asked into his chest. It was the first time he had heard her speak in a voice that was so gentle and vulnerable. It made him fall in love with her all over again.

"Every. Last. Word," he whispered, holding her tighter.

"Even the part about me being a bratty princess?" she asked playfully.

"Well, you kind of were," Sid admitted, unsure of whether it was the right thing to say.

Much to his relief, she only laughed. "True."

She soon let go of him and he reluctantly did the same. "Thanks," she said. "I really needed that. Now back to being my normal self!"

"Good, I wouldn't have it any other way." Sid could not help but smile.

Rhonda's phone went off and she saw a text that said that her ride was here. "I guess I'm going home now. Good night, Sid," she said with a small smile.

"Good night, Rhonda," Sid said, smiling back at the dark-haired beauty.

As she got into the limo, she gave him one final wave. He watched as she drove off into the night and sighed. "I love you..."


	3. Chapter 3

It was the night before homecoming and the girls were having a sleepover at Rhonda's place. It was a time of last minute planning, gossip, and fun. By 6 o' clock, everyone had arrived with their sleeping bags, tooth brushes, and clothes.

"Helga! Phoebe! Glad you guys could make it," Rhonda said as she opened the door. "Everyone else is already inside so feel free to leave your stuff in my room and meet us in the living room."

"Gotcha Princess," said Helga and the two girls went upstairs to put their stuff away.

Rhonda returned to the living room to entertain the rest of her guests. There were three different kinds of chips on the table because Helga preferred the BBQ kinds, Sheena would only eat the plain corn chips, and everyone else was fine with the original potato chips. Also on the table were pizza bites for Patty, rice cracker for Phoebe, veggie egg rolls for Nadine, and cheesy popcorn for Lila. Rhonda made sure to have everyone's favorite snacks at the slumber party. For drinks, there were a large assortment of everything from bottled water to root beer to apple juice.

Once everyone had settled down and gotten whatever they wanted from the snack table, they gathered around in the center of the room to talk.

"Gerald was ever so sweet when he asked you to homecoming, Phoebe," Lila gushed, remembering what had happened at school the month before.

Phoebe blushed at the thought of it. "I did not expect him to serenade me in front of the school!" the petite girl giggled with a huge smile on her face.

"Speaking of homecoming asks, how did Peapod ask you?" Rhonda asked Nadine.

"Uh... well... He told me that he wanted to show me this bug that he caught in his backyard so that I could identify it for him. So when I came over, I was completely surprised to see that he had rose petals all over the ground that spelled out 'Homecoming?' It was so cute. Wait, I have pictures of it on my phone," Nadine said. She quickly pulled out her phone and swiped until she reached the right photo.

"Awwwwww," went everyone in the room.

"Okay, okay, Sheena's turn. How did Eugene ask you?" Nadine asked.

"A-actually, he didn't ask me," the girl answered shyly. "I was the one who asked him."

"You go, girl!" whooped Helga.

"So what happened was I made a cute, little scavenger hunt for him. You know, with all of our significant places and things. And I was waiting for him in front of concert hall where we went on our first date. And after waiting for two hours, I got worried and decided to call him. It turns out that he accidentally got hit by a cyclist while he was still at the park and had to go to the emergency room! So later, I just asked him at his hospital room... It wasn't what I was expecting, but Eugene will always be Eugene."

The girls began to laugh, knowing that Eugene was probably okay.

"Hm... okay... Lila's turn! How did Stinky ask you?" Sheena asked.

"Oh, it was ever so nice," Lila sighed dreamily. "He got the school orchestra to play for me and handed me red roses. He was so nervous though, it was ever so cute!"

"Man, Stink-man got some moves after all," said Helga, quite impressed.

"What about you, Helga?" Lila asked. "I am ever so curious as to how Arnold asked you."

The other girls shared her curiosity. Everyone knew that Arnold was a die-hard romantic. On the other hand, they were a little less aware of Helga's romantic side.

"Alright, fine. I'll tell you what happened. He got my sister, Olga, to help him out. So it was a normal Sunday and I was planning on just watching T.V. at home because Football head said he was busy. All of a sudden, Olga decided to come home out of nowhere and insisted that I go to Shakespeare in the park with her. She even got me to put on a Juliet outfit similar to the one I had to wear in elementary school! So I go there, and lo and behold, Romeo was on the stage and he began to recite the lines from the play. And then he asked me to the dance and everyone clapped. The end."

All the girls squealed with delight but Helga rolled her eyes. "It's just homecoming. I don't know why we have to make a big deal out of it," she said.

Patty jokingly raised her fist at the blond girl. "Hey! All I got was a 'Hey Patty, wanna go to homecoming together?' from Harold so be grateful."

"You should have said 'no' and make him work for it then," Rhonda said.

"I wanted to! But... he looked so cute..."

"Oh jeez," Helga groaned.

"Not to be rude, Rhonda," Phoebe began to ask. "But why aren't you going to homecoming with anyone? You have been asked on multiple occasions by multiple guys."

"Yeah, Curly asked you twenty times alone," added Patty.

Rhonda focused her attention to the Sprite she had in her hand. "Uh... well... I just wasn't interested in any of the guys who asked me," she said, half-heartedly.

"Who are you interested in anyways?" asked Helga.

"N-no one," stammered Rhonda, still avoiding looking any of the other girls in the eyes.

"There is someone!" Nadine squealed. Having been best friends for over ten years, she was able to tell when Rhonda was lying. The others began to close in on Rhonda and looked at her with expecting eyes. "Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?" they began to chant.

"...I mean... I don't know if there is anyone that I like, like... but... I..." Rhonda began to stall until she could figure out a way to get herself out of the situation.

"JUST TELL US ALREADY, PRINCESS" demanded Helga causing the others to jump back a little.

"...sid.."

"What?"

"...sid.."

"We can't hear you, princess!"

"Sid."

"SID?!" the entire room was now in an uproar.

"SID?! THE ONE FROM P.S. 118?"

"THE ONE WHO COLLECTED FROGS?"

"THE ONE WHO NEVER TAKES OFF HIS GREEN HAT?"

"...yes..?" Rhonda answered weakly. "Well, it's not like I like, like him... I just think he's someone I could get along with. I don't know."

"So you only like him? You don't like him, like him?" asked Lila.

"I guess... We're just friends and even if I did have some tiny feelings for him, I'm not going to screw that up," explained Rhonda.

"But what if he likes you?" asked Phoebe.

Rhonda's mind immediately went back to the other night when Sid had called her amazing. It made her smile to herself but she answered, "I don't know... but it doesn't matter. I've had enough relationships ending horribly. I just don't think I should date anyone for a while."

"Yeah... and Sid is going to the dance with Irene Sandoval anyways," added Sheena.

"But he said that he is tired of Irene and doesn't even want to go with her anymore!" Nadine argued.

"E-enough!" said Rhonda, trying to change the subject. "We should start painting our nails now or else we'll be up all night waiting for them to dry."

"Fine. But you're not off the hook yet, Princess," Helga said.

Rhonda sighed with relief before getting up and getting her manicure kit from her room.

"Yes, Irene. I know. I'll meet you at your house at 4 o' clock so we can go to the park to take photos before going to dinner and then the dance. Okay. Okay. Good night," Sid said tiredly into his cell phone. He hung up as fast as he could before Irene could get any last comments in.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He should be excited for homecoming not dreading it. He was going with Irene Sandoval and almost every guy in his grade level was jealous of him. But it felt like a cheap victory.

Sometimes he wished that he actually had the guts to ask Rhonda.

But then he remembered something. Ever since the other night in front of Big Al's, she has been acting different around him. She never looked him in the eyes anymore and often avoided talking to him alone. "Damn it. Me and my big mouth. She knows that I like her and is too nice to turn me down directly." he thought to himself.

He rolled over in his bed until he was facing the night stand. Sitting on the night stand was a glass tank with Sid's beloved pet. "Oh Sidney, what do I do?" he asked the now-ancient frog.

"Croak."

"If you were a human, maybe I could ask you out," he joked.

"Croak."

"Fine. I see how it is."

He was startled as his phone went off again. He groaned until he saw that it was a text from Rhonda!

"Hey Sid. How's it going?" it read.

He sat up with excitement and wasted no time to reply back to her.

While Rhonda was in the bathroom, Nadine had taken her phone and handed it to the group of girls. They began to giggle as they decided to text Sid with it.

"He replied already!" squealed Sheena as the phone began to vibrate.

"Alright, let me see," said Helga, snatching the phone. "Yo. Just chilling. You?"

"What should we say back?" asked Patty, who originally was against the idea of using Rhonda's phone without her permission but was now somewhat interested.

"Thinking about you?" Lila suggested.

"Nah, that's too obvious..." said Helga.

"Super bored and felt like talking to you?" suggested Nadine.

"Perfect."

"She felt like talking to me? Shit... where is this going?" Sid thought aloud. "How do I reply to that?"

"Cool. Excited for tomorrow? "

"That's it?" exclaimed Nadine. "That boy is not giving us a lot to work with."

"Try 'Yeah, but I wish we could've went together'," suggested Patty.

"Nice one!" said Sheena.

"What are you girls doing with my phone?" demanded Rhonda, who had just returned.

"Click send! Click send!" squealed Phoebe.

Rhonda quickly snatched her phone back out of Helga's hand. Her face paled when she found out what they were doing. "You guys are so dead..." she hissed. She grabbed one of the pillows lying on the ground and chucked it at Helga.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" shouted Nadine as she began to gather some pillows for her arsenal.

The girls quickly followed suit and began gathering pillows as well. They spread out across the room and pillows were chucked everywhere.

Meanwhile Sid was staring at the last text he received from Rhonda. "Yeah, but I wish we could've sefnsa sdfkl".

What did that even mean? "sefnsa sdfkl"? Did she have a finger spasm or something? It's been like ten minutes and she still hadn't clarified on what she meant.

"?" was all Sid had texted her, hoping that she would correct her typos but he still hadn't gotten a reply.

Finally after a long thirty minutes of waiting, he got a response from Rhonda.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything. Good night! See you tomorrow!"

"Good night..." he texted back. He was so confused but it was getting late so he wasn't going to dwell on it. He should go to bed since it was going to be a very long day tomorrow.

After the pillow fight, Rhonda tried to do damage control. It seemed to work as Sid did not ask any questions. While she was upset at her friends, she had quickly forgiven her friends as she knew that she probably would have done the same for them. The girls were all tired from their screaming and pillow fighting and had decided to call it a night.

 _Author notes: Thanks for the reviews that I've gotten so far! This is my first time posting a fanfiction so that means a lot to me. I am usually very busy with college and life in general so I probably won't post as often as I have been these past few days. But I promise you that I will not let this story die without a proper notification. Anyways, I hope you all will continue to read my story! Thanks again._


	4. Chapter 4

It was finally the day of Homecoming. The girls had spent the entire morning getting ready. The guys had arrived at the Lloyd's residence about ten minutes ago and were waiting at the bottom of the staircase for their dates to come down.

"Geez, what's taking them so long?" groaned Harold, who was looking pretty sharp in his white dress shirt and navy tie.

"You know how girls are. They need a lotta time to get ready," said Stinky. The tall, lanky boy was wearing a green shirt with a silver tie.

"Mmm... I bet when they come down, they'll be looking super fine," grinned Gerald, who was wearing a blue dress shirt with a black bow tie.

The first girl to walk down was Sheena. She did not go shopping with the others but was wearing a long, yellow maxi dress with blue flowers on them. It was a dress that her mother had gotten her for the dance. Her long, brown hair had been let down with their natural waves and she had a cute, small braid crown that was pinned around her head. Eugene had nearly fallen once more at the sight of her.

"You look beautiful, Sheena," he could not help but gush.

"Thanks. You look very handsome, Eugene," she said shyly. She was not wrong. Eugene looked dapper in his yellow dress shirt and blue tie. He was still wearing an arm cast from his last accident, but that was expected.

One by one, the other girls had walked down the stairs. They each looked like the most beautiful girls in the world in the eyes of their dates. Rhonda stood at the top of the steps and tried her best not to sigh. She was really happy for her friends and this was not a time to be jealous. But she knew that no one's eyes were on her as she came down and there was no one that was going to call her beautiful.

Sid waited outside Irene's house with the limo while she was still adding the finishing touches to her make up. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black slacks, and a red tie. And for what seemed like the first time in forever, he had ditched his green hat. Irene had really put her foot down on that one much to his dismay.

When she finally got out of the house, Sid had to admit that she looked super fine. Her dyed blond hair had been tied up into a slick ponytail and she was wearing a red dress so tight that he wondered how she was able to breath. "That was worth the wait," he said, placing an arm around her waist. He seemed to have forgotten all about how much she had been annoying him the past few weeks.

"Thanks, Sid! Come on, we don't want to be late for the photos!" Irene said while flirtatiously batting her false eyelashes at him.

The two of them got inside the limo that were going to first pick up her other friends before going to the park. Sid had tried to put some moves on her, but she insisted that it would have to wait until after the dance. She didn't want to ruin her make up.

The entire gang were going to the park to take pictures. They all thought it was a great idea until they realized that everyone in the school had the same idea.

"How are we going to get any nice shots with all these people here?" huffed Helga.

Brainy, who had happened to be their photographer, had pointed towards the lake. "We could probably get some nice shot over there," he said. They had all agreed with him and made their way over there.

"Group shots first?" he asked, while trying to figure out what was the best angle.

"Sure!" they all said.

They were having a good time, taking some silly photos along with normal ones. After a few group shots, it was time for the couple photos. Feeling somewhat left out again, Rhonda decided to walk around a bit. Everywhere she went there were smiling couples. Whether they were in love or just messing around, it didn't matter. Rhonda was beginning to regret going to the dance without a date.

She was walking across the bridge when she ran into a familiar face.

"Sid!" she exclaimed, surprised to see him.

"Oh hey, Rhonda," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Wow... you look stunning." And he meant it.

He was taken aback by how great she looked. She was boldly wearing a two piece red dress. The top was short and sparkly while the bottom was long, flowing with a sexy slit. Her shiny, black hair had been put up into a romantic up-do. He shook his head and hoped that she didn't notice that he was staring.

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself," she said with a smile. "Where's Irene?"

"She's with the others. I didn't really know any of her friends so I felt awkward. Decided to take a walk after Irene and I were done with our photos," Sid answered. He rested his arms onto the railing of the bridge and Rhonda did the same.

They were so busy talking that they did not realize that the others were watching them.

"Take their picture, Brainy!" instructed Nadine and he obeyed. He managed to get some good shots of them, looking at each other, smiling, and laughing. It looked like they were enjoying themselves.

"Rhonda is going to thank us later," she smirked.

After talking to Rhonda for a while, Sid felt his phone go off. "It's Irene. We're heading for dinner now. I'll see you at the dance?" he asked reluctantly, as he didn't want to leave quite yet.

"Sure! Have fun! I better see you at the dance floor later," she said.

"Save me a dance!"

"Maybe!"

The gang had went to Chez Paris for their dinner and had a good meal. But now it was the moment they were all waiting for: the Homecoming Dance.

The line to enter the dance was long, but they managed to pass the time by playing silly games like charades and I spy. It helped the time pass quicker, and before they knew it, they were already inside. There were strings of small lights hanging on the walls, and a mini Eiffel tower where they assumed the photographer was.

"They did an ever so wonderful job decorating the place," Lila gasped as they entered the gym.

"Gee willikers, you're right! Who woulda thought that this smelly gym could become a night in Paris," said Stinky in his usual country drawl.

"Race you to the punch bowl, Patty!" shouted Harold, making a break for it.

"Hey! You cheater!" she called out after him. "It's hard to run in freaking heels!"

The gang laughed as the two fierce rivals ran off through the crowd. The chaperones of the dance were scolding them for running but they didn't seem to hear him. The others decided to hit the dance floor. And there was Rhonda, dancing never really by herself but attracting a flock of guys towards her. Every once in a while she'll have to take a step back if a guy got too close and tried to grind on her. She gave them a sultry look that seemed to say "You can look, but you can't touch."

Sid had walked into the dance with Irene on his arms. "Do you want to dance?" he asked the girl who was busy scanning the gym.

"Uh... yeah, sure. You go ahead. I'm going to the bathroom to freshen up," she answered absentmindedly.

"Okay then." Sid walked over to the dance floor and was not surprised to see Rhonda in the center of a circle of guys. He cut his way through the circle and walked up to the dancing girl. "Is it time for my dance?" he asked. The other guys seemed offended by his actions but they couldn't do anything about it so they simply waited for Rhonda's response.

"If you think you can keep up with me."

He reached for her hand, but she twirled away playfully and gave him a wink. "Alright, if that's how you want to play..." He loosened his tie and began to break it down. He approached Rhonda once more and she seemed please with his dancing. He swiftly grabbed her hand and pulled her in towards him. But then it hit a slow song. He chuckled awkwardly but she simply placed her arms around his neck. He followed her lead and placed his hands on her waist. The two of them began to sway to the music.

"Where's Irene now?" she whispered in his ears.

"Bathroom... I guess..." he answered softly.

"She'd probably kill you if she saw you right now..."

"Most definitely."

"So we should stop?"

"Eh..."

Despite everything, they continued to dance together as if they had forgotten where they were and what was going on. Sid could not help but notice how beautiful she was in the dim lighting. Her face was flushed though he was unsure if it was because of the dancing earlier or him right now.

"Ahem. May I dance with my date now?" someone said from behind them.

"Shit..." thought Sid as he felt his date glaring holes into the back of his head.

"Of course. I was just entertaining him while you were gone," said Rhonda, taking a step back. "I was going to get some punch anyways. I was getting thirsty."

"Thirsty for my boyfriend, you slut," Irene muttered under her breath before placing her arms around Sid's neck. She pulled him in close, pressing her boobs against his chest. "Tonight you're mine," she whispered seductively into his ear. "But I'm still going to have to punish you for dancing with Rhonda." She then proceeded to step on his foot with her sharp stiletto heels.

Rhonda was sipping on some punch that was surprisingly not spiked with anything. She watched as Irene was grinding herself against Sid and released a sigh.

"What is wrong, fair maiden? What has brought a frown upon your beautiful face?" a young man with round glasses and a bowl cut asked her.

"Not now, Curly," Rhonda groaned. She was not in the mood to deal with her obsessed admirer.

"Aw, come on, darling. Why don't we dance? It'd certainly make you feel better," he persisted.

"I'm fine. I just needed to catch my breath. So leave me alone," Rhonda insisted. She finished the rest of her drink and threw the cup away. "I'm going to find Nadine..."

She walked around the outskirts of the dance in search of her best friend, leaving the Curly behind and hoping that he did not follow her. Once she had spotted the girl chatting to her date by the bleachers, she dashed over there.

"Hey Nadine! Peapod!" she said, trying to hide her bad mood. "Having fun?"

"Oh yes. This dance has been terribly, terribly delightful," answered Peapod.

"Babe, can Rhonda and I have a girl talk really quick?" Nadine asked. Apparently, she was able to tell that something was bothering Rhonda despite Rhonda's efforts.

"I'll go grab us some punch then," Peapod nodded and walked off.

"Alright, what's up? I saw you dancing with Sid earlier! And the whole thing with Irene! Are you okay?" Nadine bombarded her with questions.

"I'm fine... I shouldn't have been dancing with Sid anyways. It's whatever. I just want to dance the night away without thinking about anything!" And so she did.

For the rest of the night, she did not leave the dance floor. And for the rest of the night, she did not see a single sign of Sid. After the dance was over, all of her friends had told her that they no longer needed a ride. "Gee, I wonder why," Rhonda muttered to herself even though she was quite aware of the answer. She had gotten into her limo and drove back home. When she got to her room, she looked into her reflection. Her hair was slightly messy and some of her make up had come off. She took gentle care to let down her hair and remove whatever make up was left on her face. She took one last twirl in her dress before taking it off and changing into silk pajamas. "Tonight was fun... I guess," she reflected. But she felt empty still. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered what it would have been like if she had went to the dance with him.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Sid was relieved but maybe a bit disappointed that he had woken up in his own bed by himself. He tried to remember what had happened the night before. His memory was fuzzy when he tried to recall what happened after Irene had convinced him to leave the dance early to go somewhere "more fun" with her friends. He was a bit annoyed since he spent a whopping $50 on their tickets but watching Rhonda dance with a bunch of other guys wasn't his idea of a good time anyways.

He tried to get up but noticed that he had felt incredibly sore for some reason. "Boy howdy, what the fuck happened last night?" he groaned. He pushed himself off the bed and went to take care of his morning routine. When he saw his reflection in the mirror, he found that his neck was covered with hickeys. "I must've had fun..." he thought to himself, touching each hickey gently. "I guess it's a scarf kind of day anyways."

After he got dress and everything, he went downstairs to eat breakfast. His dad mumbled a sleepy 'Good morning', though his mom had already went to work. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and tried to figure out what to do today. Maybe he should... No, don't think. Just do it.

He texted a certain someone very quickly to ask if they wanted to hang out with him. He pressed send before he could regret what he had done. Much to his surprise, he soon got a reply.

"Sure. Docks?" the text read.

"FUCK YES!" he cheered a little too loudly.

"What the hell, son?" his father scolded him.

"Sorry, dad..."

Rhonda did not expect to get a text from Sid asking her to hang out with him. She wondered what he could have possibly wanted from her. They had never hung out just the two of them. Although she was still a bit upset about homecoming, she could not deny that she still wanted to see him. And now he won't have Irene hanging over his head all the time!

She had to decide quickly what she was going to wear! After going through her entire closet, she had decided to wear a black pleated plaid skirt and a white silk blouse. Because it was rather cold, she also wore a warm wool coat. She had left her hair as is; it was still curly from the night before. Satisfied with the way she looked, she had her driver drop her off at the docks. She waited by the street lamp where they had agreed to meet. She was a little bit early, but it didn't take long for her to spot Sid running from the bus stop.

"Sorry! I didn't make you wait, did I?" he said, breathing heavily from the running.

Rhonda checked her watch. "No, actually you're five minutes early," she said with a smile. "So what's up? Did you need to talk to me about something?"

"What? I just wanted to hang out with my old friend that I've known since I was in preschool," sighed Sid with a faux-hurt expression.

"Oh hush. We didn't even start being friends until middle school. And we have never hung out without the rest of the gang," Rhonda retorted, rolling her eyes.

"There was that one time!" Sid argued.

"That time you tricked me into catching frogs with you because no one else wanted to go with you does not count."

"What about-"

"Nor the time we were forced to work together for our 6th grade science project."

"Fine... Would you believe me if I said that I just wanted to spend time with you?"

Fortunately for Rhonda, the cold had already colored her cheeks so he would not have noticed that she was blushing. "Well..." she stammered until she noticed that Sid was wearing a scarf. How suspicious. "Sid... why are you wearing a scarf?" she asked out of curiosity.

"It's cold! What do you expect?" Sid chuckled nervously.

Rhonda, unconvinced, took his scarf from around his neck. She gasped as she saw the bruises scattered around. "Oh my..."

"Uh..." Sid was unsure of what to say.

"You guys had fun," said Rhonda, forcing herself to laugh.

"Yeah... One thing led to another I guess..."

"Did you guys...?"

"No! No! At least, I don't think so. Honestly, I don't remember last night at all."

"Good for you! Uh... So are you guys together?"

"No and I don't plan on going out with her again," said Sid.

"Oh." Rhonda was somewhat pleased to hear that. Whatever happened last night as in the past and it seemed that Sid was available again. Not like it made a difference to her or anything. "Ahem... anyways..," she said, changing the subject. "What do you want to do now?"

Sid thought about it for a moment. "Uh.. I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "You're the one who invited me to hang out!" she scolded playfully

"And you're the person who randomly decided to choose the docks!" Sid teased back.

"Fine... I wanted to go to the pier. Remember when we were little and played those street games?"

"Oh yeah! And you threw the ball like a little girl!"

"And you threw it like a little shrimp with stringy hair, and big ears, and your hat on backwards," chuckled Rhonda who had perfectly recalled what she said that day.

"Ouch... that still hurts me," said Sid, who could not help but laugh.

"Want to have a rematch?"

"Sure!"

The two of them scurried along the pier and went back to the booth from their childhood. They each paid $2 to get 2 throws. Rhonda went first. She chuck the ball at the bottles, and while she didn't knock them all down, she had improved from when she was nine. She managed to knock over one of the bottles.

"Damn it!" she grumbled as Sid laughed.

"Let me show you how it's done, Princess," he teased. He then threw the ball as hard as he could, and managed to knock all of them down with one throw.

"Winner!" said the man running the booth. "What prize do you want?"

"Let the lady decide," answered Sid.

"What?"

"I won it for you. Think of it as a 'thank you' for coming with me today."

"Oh! I want the pink turtle then!" she said cheerfully.

"Yes ma'am," the man said and got the plush down for Rhonda. "You both still have one more throw, by the way."

"Time to redeem myself!" said Rhonda before throwing the ball again. This time she did her best to aim for the center of the tower and had managed to hit all of them!

"Another winner! Seriously, you kids are bad for business," the man groaned. "What do you want now?"

"Sid, you may choose."

"Oh?"

"Consider it a 'thank you' for Angelica."

"You named her Angelica?"

"I think it suits her! Now hurry up and pick something," Rhonda huffed.

"Uh... I'll take the green turtle then." Sid decided after some thought.

"Yessir," said the man.

Since both of them had their prizes, Sid decided to just throw the ball for fun, knocking only three of the bottles down. The man in the booth seemed relieved.

"So what are you going to name your turtle?" asked Rhonda as the two walked to find something else to do.

"Hm... how about Garf?" Sid mused.

"Garf? That is like one letter away from barf!" Rhonda said with disgust. "What about Frederick?"

"That's too formal. How about Wes?" offered Sid.

"Wes... as in short for Wesley... I'm okay with that," she smiled. She then held her pink turtle next to his green one. "Oh they look so cute together!" she squealed with delight.

Sid smiled at the cheerful girl. "So what do you want to do now?" he asked, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket.

"Hmm... Are you hungry?" Rhonda asked after thinking about it for a moment. "I heard there was this pretty good fish and chip place nearby here. It opened recently and is getting popular."

"Sounds good! Lead the way, princess," he said.

The two of them walked until they reached a little shop with a freshly painted sign that read "Fish N' Chips". There was already a line going out the door of the small shop. "They're so busy today!" Rhonda exclaimed. "It's probably going to be at least a half an hour wait before we can order at this rate."

"I don't mind waiting if you're okay with it," shrugged Sid. He was not too hungry and was okay with the line if the food was as good as people made it seem.

"Okay! Let's wait then. I hope it's worth it though," sighed Rhonda.

While they were in line, some of their classmates happen to spot them. "Hey, is that Sid and Rhonda?" asked Patty who was holding hands with Harold, who still hasn't officially asked her to be his girlfriend.

"Whatcha talking about? I don't see them!" said Harold, a little too loudly.

"Over there! In line for the fish and chips!" Patty said, pointing at the couple.

"Oh! Fish and chips sound really good right now. Let's get some, Patty!" Harold said, completely forgetting about the whole Sid and Rhonda thing as his stomach required all of his attention.

"No... ugh... Harold, we just ate hamburgers, remember?" Patty sighed. She was used to his insatiable appetite but that didn't mean that she didn't lecture him a bit. Especially since the football coach had begged her to make sure Harold wasn't overeating again. They needed him in top shape for the season.

"BUT I'M STILL HUNGRY!" Harold whined.

"Come on, Harold. You're always hungry. Let's go," Patty said, dragging him away from the restaurant. She had also forgotten about seeing Sid and Rhonda. But to be fair, Harold was a handful.

Meanwhile, Sid and Rhonda had finally ordered their food and sat down at one of the outdoor tables. By the time their food had arrived, they were so hungry that they didn't speak because they were too busy stuffing their faces.

After a few bites, Rhonda broke the silence. "Okay, this is pretty good," she said, satisfied with their decision.

"It's fucking great," Sid said with his mouth still full.

"Table manners, Sid," Rhonda teased, rolling her eyes.

He took the time to chew and swallow this time before apologizing. "Sorry."

Rhonda laughed, "It's okay."

Once the eating had slowed, they resumed their conversation. "Okay, it was your turn, Rhonda. Would you rather wear shoes that is filled with melted cheese or a bra made out of cabbage?" Sid asked.

"...Bra made out of cabbage," she answered while Sid bursts out into laughter. "Whatever. Your turn. Would you rather be locked in a closet filled with rats or swim in a sea of cockroaches?"

"Ew! That's gross!" Sid groaned.

"That's the point, now choose!"

"Fine...Uh... Closet filled with rats. Cockroaches are the worst."

"Agreed."

The day had passed by really quickly and before they knew it, the sun was setting. They sat at the pier and watched as the sun went down. Sid had carefully placed his hand on top of Rhonda's. She had not moved it or said anything about it. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I had a lot of fun today," she whispered, her eyes never leaving the setting sun.

"Me too. Why don't we do this more often?"

"...I don't know. I guess we are always busy with other people."

"That's a shame. I think you're my favorite person to hang out with."

"I think my favorite person to hang out with is Nadine."

"Ouch."

"But you're a close second."

"Thanks."

"Hey, Sid? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"If neither of us have dates, can we hang out on the weekends like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if you don't have a date for the weekend and I don't have a date for the weekend, we hang out with each other so we're not so bored. I mean, everyone else is busy with their boyfriends or girlfriends. It's just us, you know?"

"Ah.. I get what you mean." Sid was a bit disappointed that she had not asked him out, but it seemed like a pretty good start. "Alright, it's a deal."

"Shake on it?"

"How about we seal it with a kiss?"

Rhonda pushed him lightly while her face had turned a bright red. "You're stupid."

"Fine, shake on it." he said, extending his hand. She took it and gave it a gentle shake.

By then, the sun had completely set and Rhonda had to go home for dinner. They exchanged their goodbyes and Rhonda hopped onto her limo. She clutched tightly onto Angelica and smiled. It had been a great day.

 _Author's Note:_

 _I would like to thank you all for the reads and review! This has been a somewhat fluffy chapter but there will be drama soon. I hope you all will continue reading and supporting my story. Love you all 3_


	6. Chapter 6

Everything has been peaceful for the past few days for the P.S. 118 kids. They went to class, hung out afterwards, and went home when they were done. Some of the girls had teased Rhonda about her "date", as they would like to call it, with Sid. Some of the guys were teasing Sid about his new stuffed turtle, mainly Harold. But all in all, nothing interesting had happened until he came back into town.

"SID! SID! SID!" shouted a voice, and Sid had immediately regretted putting his phone up to his ear.

"Ow! Stinky! Stop yelling! What's going on?" he grumbled. Sid had been sleeping up until now because it was 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning. He wasn't exactly in the mood to talk unless it was an emergency.

"Sorry, Sid. I... I... I'm gonna lose Miss Lila!" Stinky cried. Sid could hear the tall boy sniffling and about to break into a sob.

"What are you talking about, Stinky? You guys are crazy about each other. What happened?" Sid asked, suddenly feeling awake. "Do you want me to come over so we can talk?"

"Yes please..." sniffed Stinky.

"On my way."

Sid put on the first things he found and made a run for it to the Peterson's house. Fortunately, they only lived a block away from each other. It only took Sid about ten minutes to get there. When he knocked on the door, Stinky was already waiting for him and had opened it, letting him in. Then the two went to Stinky's room to talk.

"Alright, start from the beginning. Why do you think you're going to lose Lila?" Sid asked, a bit out of breath.

"...Because... he's back in town..." Stinky managed to say between sobs. The poor boy had red eyes and nose, and was constantly reaching over for another tissue.

"Who's back in town?" pressed Sid, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Arnie!" Stinky cried, putting face into his hands and crying even more. "Lila loves Arnie! Everyone knows that!"

Sid sighed. So that was this was all about. "That was ages ago. She probably forgot all about him! Besides, she was the one who asked you out and you two have been together for almost a year now! I'm sure she would choose you over Arnold's boring, weird cousin," he assured the crying boy.

"Y-you really think so?" Stinky asked softly.

"Of course. Now stop crying, aren't you going to meet up with her today?" he asked, handing his friend another tissue.

"R-right! I needa get ready for our date! Thanks, Sid. You're the best friend a guy could have," Stinky said, smiling for the first time since he heard about Arnie.

"I know, just don't hug me, okay? You have snot all over you," Sid teased.

"Gosh darnit, you're right! I must look outright disgusting!"

"Yup. I'm gonna let myself out so you can get ready and I don't have to look at this hot mess. See ya Stinky!"

"Bye Sid! Thanks again!"

Sid began to make his way back home. He really wanted to return to his bed and sleep an extra few hours. But much to his dismay, he got text message. His annoyance dissipated as he saw that the text was from Rhonda. "Are you free today?" the text read.

"Yeah, what's up?" he replied back.

"I'm throwing a party tonight. Come around 6."

"I'll be there."

Lila was walking along the street towards the spot where she and Stinky arranged to meet up for their date. However, she froze in her tracks when she saw him: Arnie. The boy that she was obsessed with when she was younger. The boy that she found ever so charming and interesting. And when she saw him again, she knew that those feelings never left. The two stared at each other for what felt like forever until Lila broke the silence.

"H-hey... Arnie... H-how long are you visiting for?" she stammered.

"Just a week. Is Helga around?" he asked much to her disappointment. He was still into Helga...

"Uh... yeah. But you do know she is dating your cousin, Arnold, right?"

"So?"

Lila's heart dropped and she no longer felt like meeting up with Stinky. She quickly pulled out her phone and texted him, "I'm ever so sorry, Stinky but I can't hang out with you right now. I'll see you at the party tonight though."

She didn't bother to check to see if he replied. She was too focus on Arnie. "I can show you around again, if you would like?" she offered with a smile.

"Sure."

After his well deserved nap, Sid had decided it was time to get ready for the party. He was going to wear his green plaid shirt with a white shirt underneath and black jeans. And of course, he was going to have his green cap on. He had learned from Rhonda that it was going to be a small get together with their gang. It's been a while since her last party, which was the summer before school started. But everyone has been busy with their own thing and Sid was pretty sure that Rhonda's parent weren't too pleased with the End of Summer fiasco the last time they had a party.

By the time he was finished getting ready, it was already 5:45. He got to the bus stop and was fortunate that the bus had just arrived as he did. He took the seat in the back and watched as the passengers got on and off at various stops. However, he spotted an unexpected duo: Lila and Arnie!

Her arms were linked to his and she was giggling like a school girl. They had taken a seat and she was so distracted by the blond boy that looked like Arnold, that she didn't even see Sid in the back of the bus.

"Boy howdy! I gotta tell Stinky... But it's gonna break his heart," thought Sid who was feeling guilty for telling Stinky that everything was going to be alright.

Not knowing what to do, he watched the two until they reached their stop. Sid followed closely behind them; maybe they were just hanging out as friends. Though Lila definitely made it clear that she didn't want to be "just friends".

They soon arrived at Rhonda's mansion, but Sid still kept a few feet behind, not wanting to confront the duo. It was Rhonda who had answered the door.

"Oh! It's Lila! With...ARNIE?" she gasped as she opened the door. She pulled the girl aside for a moment and asked, "Where's Stinky? What happened?"

Lila stared guiltily at the ground. "I...I..." she had no good answer for these questions. "I need to talk to Stinky..."

Rhonda sighed. "Well, he's not here yet. So do what you want. But try not to break our friend's heart."

"I.. never meant to..." she replied, her eyes watering. Stinky was a very, very sweet guy. He was always kind and polite and treated her with respect. But, there was something about Arnie that she couldn't shake off. It wasn't fair. She had the sweetest boyfriend but he will never be Arnie. She was in love with a boy that wasn't even in town half the time and was after another girl. Life was crappy like that.

Not knowing what to say, Rhonda let the two go in the party and watched as Lila's shoulders slump. She turned back towards the door and called out, "You can come out now, Sid."

"W-what? How did you know I was there?" he asked, stepping out of the shadows.

"Two words: Beetle boots."

"Ah..." he said, looking down at his bright, white boots.

"Well, come on in. You can help me make sense of this whole Arnie debacle," she said while rolling her eyes at the mention of Arnie. Things always went wrong when Arnie came over.

Helga glared at the boy who looked similar to her boyfriend. But Arnie only smiled and came closer towards her. "What do you want, shitweed?" she scowled as he approached her.

"You look pretty. Want to come over and see my lint collection?" he snorted.

"Fuck no! I'm dating your cousin. You know? Arnold?"

"So?"

"SO? SO? So I'm not going to cheat on my boyfriend with a lame loser like you! So leave me alone, criminy!" she shouted, losing her temper.

"Leave her alone, Arnie," interrupted Arnold who had returned with drinks for him and his girlfriend.

"Fine..." said Arnie, walking away to who knows where.

"You okay, Helga?" Arnold asked, checking in on his girlfriend.

"Yeah... I'm fine. I just wish he would get over me already. Jeez," she grumbled.

"Alright party people!" Rhonda called out to get everyone's attention. "We're going to start some games! We could either play charades, seven minutes in heaven, spin the bottle, or truth or dare!"

"Charades!" immediately shouted Harold.

"I do like charades," Eugene added.

"Come on, let's play seven minutes in heaven," said Park.

"A lot of us here are in happy relationships you idiot," said Helga, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, then all you lame couples should go play charade while we single people have fun with seven minutes in heaven," Park retorted.

With that, they were split into two groups. The couples included: Eugene and Sheena, Harold and Patty, Arnold and Helga, Gerald and Phoebe, Peapod Kid and Nadine.

The single group included: Rhonda, Sid, Arnie, Curly, Katrinka, Park, Gloria, Brainy and Lorenzo.

Lila had decided to join the singles group while Stinky... well, no one has seen Stinky that night.

"We have more guys than girls! That's not fair," Park complained.

"Well... I'm okay with playing charades," breathed Brainy.

"I guess that's a little bit better... Five guys and four girls," Park said after doing a headcount.

"Alright guys choose a number from the hat," said Rhonda. She then passed the hat around until every guy had a slip of paper. "Okay girls, who wants to go first?"

To everyone's surprise, Lila offered. "I'd like it ever so much if I went first," she said with a smile. She grabbed a slip from a different hand and called out, "I got 2?"

"That's me, babe," said Curly with a cheeky smile. "You're no Rhonda... but you'll do."

Lila sighed with disappointment while Rhonda directed the couple to the closet. "Better her than me," she thought with relief.

When the seven minutes have passed, Lila and Curly left the closet. Lila did not look amused while Curly looked like he was going to pass out from joy.

Before Rhonda could say anything, Lila said, "Please. Don't ask. I never want to think about it again."

"Okay... um... Who's next?"

Katrinka went next and had gotten Sid. Rhonda hid her jealousy pretty well but could not help but wonder what the two did in there. Sid left with a pretty red face, while Katrinka had a silly smile on. Gloria had gotten Arnie. She came out looking quite disturbed while Arnie continued to have his blank expression. Lila was still seething with jealousy though. Finally, it was Rhonda's turn. She would either get Park or Lorenzo. Neither were bad options in her opinion.

"1?" she called out.

"That's me!" Park said excitedly. "After you, babe."

"Sweet, I get to play seven minutes of heaven with Rhonda. She's like the hottest girl here," he thought to himself as they walked into the closet.

When the door closed behind them, Park wasted no time in pulling Rhonda in for a kiss. His tongue began to lick her lower lip, wanting to seek entry into her mouth. In the name of seven minutes in heaven, she obliged. The kiss was passionate and Rhonda had to admit, she didn't dislike it. He used one of his hands to hold her head while the other explored her body. "I'm hella lucky to be here with a girl as gorgeous as you," he whispered into her ears. His warm breath sent chills down her spine. He playfully nibbled her ear before kissing her again on the lips. She reached for his hair and pulled him closer towards her.

When the door had swung open, the two still had their lips locked. Everyone gasped with shock. Rhonda shyly played with her hair and took a seat. Park, feeling like a champ, returned to his and gave Rhonda a wink.

Sid could feel the blood rushing to his head. But there was nothing he could do. It's not like she was his girlfriend or anything. She could kiss whoever she wanted.

"Guys! We have to do another round because I didn't get to go in there with anyone," Lorenzo said.

"I'm down for another round. I hope I get Rhonda this time," Curly said.

"You and me both," thought Sid.

"Alright, Lorenzo. You can choose first then," Rhonda said. She gathered the paper and this time the girls got to choose first.

"I got 2?" announced Lorenzo.

"That's me," said Gloria with a smile. At this point, anyone would have been better than Arnie.

Next was Curly, who had miraculously gotten Lila again. She sighed; what horrible, awful luck. She must have set some ground rules this time though as Curly left the closet looking very disappointed.

Then it was Arnie's turn to choose. Lila closed her eyes and prayed that he would get her. "4 again... So that's Lila right?" he announced.

"Oh! Yes!" she said, nearly jumping out of her seat. She grabbed his hand and went into the closet for the third time that night.

When they were done, Lila's face was brilliantly red while Arnie still remained unfazed. "Good for her... I guess," thought Rhonda.

"Alright, Sid. Your turn to choose," she said, holding the hat.

"Please get Rhonda, please get Rhonda," he mumbled softly to himself so no one could hear him.

"...3...?"

"That's me..." Rhonda said, breathlessly.

"Oh... cool...ha..." Sid said though in the inside he was thinking, "FUCK YES!"

They walked over to the closet and watched the door close behind them.

"So... uh.. do...we just..?" Sid stammered nervously.

"You don't want to kiss me?" Rhonda asked, dejectedly.

"NO! Let's... !" He slowly reached for her face and pulled her closer towards him. Her red lips looked so enticing, and so he kissed her. It was gentle and sweet, unlike her lustful kiss with Park. She wrapped her arms around him and nibbled on his lower lip. He opened his mouth and let their tongues explore the inside of each other's mouth. She pressed her body against him, wanting to be closer to him if that was even possible at this point. He broke away from the kiss, and began to kiss along her jaw until he reached her neck.

"S-sid!" she gasped. He had found one of her weaknesses. She felt like putty with his touch. Sid smirked, and began to tease her more with his tongue, licking her neck near the collar bone.

"...Too bad we only have 7 minutes..." Sid whispered, knowing that their time was almost up. He had stopped teasing her and simply held her in an embrace.

"Are you like this with all girls?" she asked. She needed to know.

"Maybe... I don't know..."

"If so... I can see why you're so popular."

"You're just noticing my charm?"

"Shut up."

"But seriously Rhonda... I-"

He was interrupted by the door swinging open. "Time's up! Alright, my turn!" said Park.

Sid was unsure whether he should be relieved or angry. He had almost confessed his feelings for Rhonda. But maybe he should. Just to get it over with. She needed to know eventually. And if she didn't like him back, well, he'll worry about it if it comes to it. But he couldn't go on like this.

Park had chosen Katrinka and after that round, they decided to call it a night. It was already getting late and people were starting to go home. One by one, or two by two, they began to leave Rhonda's place. Until everyone had left, except for Sid.

"Do you need any help cleaning up?" he offered.

"Thanks Sid, that would be really helpful," she admitted. Even though it was a small get together, there were still a lot of things she needed to put away. She let him carry more of the heavy stuff like the stereos while she vacuumed off all the crumbs on the ground. Once they were done cleaning, she walked Sid out the door.

"Thanks again. I would've been up all night if it wasn't for you," she said with a smile.

"No problem," Sid said. "So.. uh.. what I wanted to say earlier, in the closet..."

"Yeah?"

"Uh... I... I... I think you're really attractive!" he stuttered.

"Oh thanks! You're not too bad yourself," she returned, chuckling softly.

"N-n... I... uh... Good night," he said, awkwardly. He was cursing himself in his head for his inability to tell her how he felt.

"Good night, Sid! See you around!" she said before closing the door.

"I'm such a fucking idiot..." he grumbled to himself.

Author Note: Sorry it's been forever since I've published anything. I'm going to be really busy for a while. Anyhow, thanks for those who still read my stories. I appreciate it! I am willing to listen to suggestions if you have any, like if you have any ideas or couples you want to see more of. Feel free to PM me or leave a review. Thanks again!


	7. Chapter 7

Stinky had not been his usual self since Lila broke up with him. She finally got the chance to do it earlier on a Monday morning, and was seen hanging around Arnie before he went back to the countryside. She was not going out with Arnie, but she could not deny that her feelings for Stinky were platonic at this point.

"Hey, it's not that bad being single," Sid said, trying to cheer his best friend up.

"Gosh, you're just saying that on the account that you ain't never had a serious girlfriend before," groaned Stinky, who had buried his face into his hands. "But once you found something as special that me and Miss Lila had, it's just so tragic when it's gone."

"Thanks Stinky," Sid said sarcastically. He knew his friend was hurting and all, but what he had said was not necessary. He wasn't too upset though and quickly changed the subject. "Didn't you think Gloria was really pretty?" he asked.

"I-I-I guess," Stinky sniffed. "But she's not Lila!"

"There are plenty of other girls out there, Stinky. You just gotta find one that you like even more than Lila."

"Don't say her name!" Stinky cried.

Realizing that he was unable to be much help, Sid decided to give Stinky some space. "If you need to talk to me, just let me know. I'll be there," he said as he left his friend's house.

He got onto a bus to Big Al's, where the rest of the gang sans Lila, were hanging out. They had decided to meet up to figure out a way to cheer Stinky up. When he arrived, they had already began to ask if Stinky was feeling better or not.

"Nope, I couldn't do anything at all. He's still miserable," Sid sighed. He ordered a chocolate milkshake as they began to discuss.

"I still can't believe that Lila would break up with him," said Phoebe, fidgeting with her straw.

"And because of that stupid Arnie!" Helga added with a scowl.

"There's nothing we can do about that," Patty chimed in. "She can't help who she falls in love with."

"Yeah... I guess..." everyone else mumbled in agreement. They knew they couldn't be mad at Lila for breaking up with him. That was just part of life but it's hard to forgive a person for breaking the heart of your close friend. Even if that person is also a close friend of yours.

And that was that conversation. Once everyone had finished their shakes, they no longer felt like talking to they all went their separate ways.

The next few days were a bit strained. The remaining couples had been extra lovey-dovey as if to prove that they were still in love with each other. Harold and Patty had finally declared their relationship as an official and exclusive thing. But there was still this tension that no one could shake off. The gang overall had kind of drifted apart after that, no one wanted to look like they were choosing sides.

Soon it was Thanksgiving break, which meant they got an entire week off from school. Sid decided it was the perfect opportunity to help Stinky get over Lila.

"How about it, Stinky? Just you and me. Let's crash Mike Wheaton's party tonight," Sid said over the phone.

"Mike Wheaton? That senior quarterback that still picks on Harold? I dunno, Sid," answered Stinky.

"Mike might be a dick, but that doesn't mean he doesn't throw a wicked awesome party. Think of all the hot senior babes that are going to be there!" Sid continued excitedly.

"B-but... I'm just gonna make a fool outta myself there. 'sides, I ain't over Miss Lila yet," Stinky argued.

""Come on, it'd be fun! I promise! You won't even remember that girl's name by the end of the night!"

"...Fine. But I'm telling ya, it ain't gonna work."

"Sure, sure, you can tell me that after the party. And please try to look presentable. It is a senior party."

Later that night, Sid and Stinky walked over to Wheaton's place. They managed to slip into the crowd that was entering the rather large house, and got in without any suspicions drawn to them. Stinky had managed to clean himself up and was wearing a white v-neck and a blue denim jacket while Sid was sporting his usual green cap with a gray button up. The house was filled with a ton of people, most of which the two did not recognize.

"Want anything to drink?" Sid asked loudly so Stinky could hear him over the loud, pounding music.

"A sprite would be nice," Stinky yelled back.

"Uh... yeah... I'll try..." Sid said, knowing that non-alcoholic drinks were hard to come around in parties like these. When he came back, he gave his friend a red Solo cup with something that was definitely not sprite. "It's... uh... root beer?" Sid lied. Well, he was kind of telling the truth... There was just more "beer" than "root".

Stinky took a sip and nearly gagged. "This is some funky tasting root beer, Sid," he said with a cough.

"It just takes some getting used to. All the seniors drink this stuff," Sid said, taking a sip himself. He was more accustomed to it, as he and his dad often drank while watching football together or whatever. Maybe he shouldn't be lying to his best friend, but the alcohol could give him the testosterone boost he needed to meet another girl and get over Lila.

A few drinks later, Stinky was flirting with almost every girl in sight. Man, did he feel good. He got onto the dance floor and danced with anyone who would dance with him. He was starting to attract some attention and the senior girls could not help but wonder who this mysterious person was. Meanwhile, Sid watched proudly in the sidelines. He felt pretty good and not just because he had some beers in him. It looked like he was able to get Stinky back into the game.

While on the dance floor, Stinky had spotted a pretty girl standing by herself by the drinks. Well, he assumed she was pretty. Her figure was smoking hot and she had long, black hair but he didn't get to see her face. He walked up to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "You are looking too fine to be all alone, miss," he slurred.

The mystery woman turned around, at first with a look of disgust and then shock. "Stinky?!" she gasped.

"How... do ya know my name, gorgeous?" he asked, somewhat surprised but too drunk to care. He placed an arm around her shoulder. "Why don't we go find somewhere quiet and talk for a bit?"

"Stinky... it's me... Rhonda?" the girl said, trying to push his arms off.

"Rhonda? Ha... I know a girl by that name. She's hot too!" Stinky continued, leaning his face closer towards her.

Sid, who had just realized what was going on, managed to dash across the room and stop Stinky from doing anything else to her. "Stinky! Whoah! Ahaha... buddy, that's Rhonda, remember? The one who used to make fun of us for wearing clothes that were 'so out of season'?" he said, pulling his best friend off of the girl he had been crushing on forever. "Haha... hey Rhonda. Whatcha doing here?" he asked, trying to laugh it off.

"It's a party, why do you think I'm here?" Rhonda replied, slightly annoyed. "More importantly, what happened to Stinky? He isn't drugged or anything, is he?"

"No. No. No. He's just drunk. It's his first time," answered Sid. He turned to look at his best friend, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. "Damn it, Stinky..."

"I'll help you look for him," offered Rhonda.

"Thanks, Rhonda."

The two split up to look for their very intoxicated friend. It wasn't long until Sid found him flirting with a senior girl with dyed red hair. "You kinda look like my ex-girlfriend," he admitted, almost tearing up at the phrase "ex-girlfriend".

"Well, she's really missing out if she broke up with you," the girl said in a sultry voice. She put her arms around him as if to comfort him, but her intentions were probably less innocent than that.

"Thanks... That's awful nice of you to say," he sniffed.

Sid probably would have been happy for him if it wasn't for the fact that the girl that Stinky was hitting on was Mike's girlfriend. "Uh Stinky... we gotta go!" he said, trying to get his best friend to come with him.

"But why, Sid? You ain't letting me have any fun! First with Miss Rhonda and now with Miss..." his voice trailed off as he didn't know the girl's name.

"Aubrey," the girl said, filling in the blank.

"Thanks. Miss Aubrey," Stinky continued.

Before Sid could say anything, Mike stormed up towards them and was tugging on Stinky's shirt. "You think you can waltz in here and flirt with my girl?" he said in a menacing voice.

"Shut up, Mike! You were the one who said you didn't want to be 'exclusive'!" Aubrey complained. "I'm allowed to talk to whoever I want!"

"Fuck off, bitch!" Mike hissed at the girl. "This ain't got nothing to do with you." He then refocused his attention onto Stinky. After closely examining Stinky's face, he said, "What are you doing here, Sophomore? Who do you think you are, crashing my party and talking to my girl like that, punk?" He slammed Stinky against the wall, creating a loud thud that caused everyone in the room to gasp.

"Hey! Leave my friend alone!" Sid shouted and went over to stand beside his friend.

"Ugh... Another sophomore brat! Fine. I'll just have to beat the both of you up!"

"No one is beating anyone up!" interrupted Rhonda. She was holding her cell phone up that already had 9-1-1 entered into it. "If you even touch a single hair on their heads, I will call the police and let them know that there was a whole lot of underage drinking going on here!"

"What!? No way!" everyone at the party began to go in a panic.

"You wouldn't dare, bitch!" Mike said with a glare.

"Firstly, my name is Rhonda Wellington Lloyd! Secondly, don't test me," she retorted, dangling her phone as a taunt.

Mike hesitated for a moment, but gave in. He was going to get killed by his parents if they found out about the party, even more so if the police was involved. "Fine! J-just get out of here!" he said, giving up. He let go of Stinky and walked away.

"Come on, you guys," said Rhonda, heading towards the exit.

"We leaving already?" asked Stinky as Sid dragged him out of the house.

Once they safely mad it out, Sid and Rhonda sighed simultaneously. Before Sid could thank her for helping them out of a tight situation, she started lecturing them. "What were you guys thinking?" she demanded. "Stinky! I get that you're drunk but still! You can't just hit on everything that moves! And Sid! How could you let Stinky drink that much? He's never had alcohol before right?"

"I... don't feel good..." groaned Stinky and he threw up in the bush in front of Matt's house.

"Ugh... I'll get my driver to take you both home. But if Stinky pukes all over the limo, I swear I'm going to kill you both!" Rhonda said.

Rhonda quickly called her driver and the three went home. They decided to drop Stinky off first since he was a complete wreck. The two struggled to carry the tall, lanky boy who had fallen asleep during the drive. Fortunately, Stinky's dad was understanding enough and thanked them for helping his son out.

That left Rhonda and Sid in her limo.

"...Sorry Rhonda... and thanks for saving our sorry butts," Sid said, finally getting a word out.

"It's fine, Sid," she sighed. She kind of felt bad for yelling at them now. She was just so worried and didn't want them to get into more trouble. Mike was big and tough; if they got into a fight with him, they were surely going to the hospital afterwards. "I'm sorry for... being so harsh earlier."

"Nah, we had it coming. We were being stupid."

"What were you guys doing there anyways?"

"I just wanted to help Stinky forget about Lila. I thought a couple of drinks would help him unwind. I didn't think he'd become a casa nova and try to steal Mike's girl. What about you? Why were you there?"

"Please, if there's a cool party in town, I'm there," Rhonda said smugly causing Sid to laugh. "What? It's true!"

It didn't take long for them to arrive in front of Sid's house. "Alright, good night, Sid. Don't get into anymore trouble. I can't save you every time," she teased as he got out of the car.

"Hey! Maybe next time I'll be the one saving you," he returned with a cheeky grin. "Good night, Rhonda."

When he got to his room, he checked the time and saw that it was only ten. They were only at Mike's party for about an hour and a half. "Jeez, we got kicked out fast," he thought to himself. "It was expected, but not in the way that it happened... And man, was Stinky going to feel it tomorrow. Hopefully he won't remember any of it and blame me or something." Despite the fact that it was still early, he was freaking tired. "It was kind of a long day, I guess." He decided to call it a night and got ready for bed. Before he fell asleep, he glanced over at the green turtle that Rhonda had won for him a few weeks ago and smiled.

Author's note:

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I've been busy with classes. Again, thank you all for your views and reviews and support. I'll try to make things less cliche... though I think it's kind of nice to have some cliches with this pairing since we never really get to see this couple. But that's just my opinion. I have more stuff coming up and hope that you will all keep following the story! Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

Time has passed, Stinky was slowly recovering from his break up with Lila, and things were starting to go back to normal. It was almost to the point where the entire gang could hang out together again without feeling awkward. The only difference was that Stinky and Lila no longer sat closely together or held hands, but other than that, they were able to talk politely to each other if the situation required it.

The story now takes place during the first day back from school after Thanksgiving break and while they don't know it yet, somethings had happened over that break that may affect our protagonists.

* * *

"How was Aspen?" Nadine asked, as the two girls finally reunited in the hallway.

"The same as usual. I get that it's an exclusive place for the wealthy and all, but couldn't we go somewhere else for once? Like London! Or Seoul!" Rhonda sighed. She did not mention that her parents had tried to set her up with another one of their business partner's son. Actually, that was probably the reason why they went there so often; so she could meet a bunch of rich guys. While her parents were not going to tell her who she was allowed to date or not, they still had a strong desire for her to marry within her social class. They didn't have to say anything to her for her to figure it out.

"But enough about me, what did you do over the break?" Rhonda said with a smile.

"I went on a camping trip with my family! We did some field studies on beetles! It was pretty cool, though you're not really that interested in that..." Nadine's voice drifted off towards the end of the sentence.

"Yeah... I'm not..." Rhonda admitted guiltily. "But I'm glad you had a good time."

The two continued to chat through the halls when it got weirdly quiet. The only sound that could be heard was a set of footsteps and a few gasps and sighs. Rhonda turned her head back and found herself looking into a pair of piercing onyx eyes. The mystery guy had messy black hair that was tousled in all the right places. While he was still a bit on the shorter side, he was quite the looker. He flashed Rhonda a smile and began to walk towards her. She felt like her insides were going to melt... It felt like a scene from a movie. Until he began to speak.

"Hey Rhonda," a familiar, annoying voice escaped from the gorgeous boy's lips.

"...CURLY?!" Rhonda gasped, unable to believe her eyes. "But what? But how?"

"I guess I did a lot of growing up during the break," he shrugged nonchalantly. "And please, call me Thad."

"Okay... Thad..." she was not really sure what else to say to him.

"Oh, and if it's alright with you, Princess, I'd like to take you out this Saturday night. I'll text you the details. Later," he said, walking away with a slight wave. He didn't even give her the chance to answer.

"Wow, he sure grew up a lot," Nadine whistled, reminding Rhonda that she was still there.

"Huh? Who does he think he is? Just because he got contacts and got rid of his stupid hair cut?" Rhonda began to grumble. "Like I would ever go out with him!"

"But Rhonda... I mean, he does like you a lot and he is now a total hottie... I don't know why you wouldn't go for it," Nadine said, interrupting Rhonda's thought.

"Because he's still crazy?" Rhonda said, exasperated.

"Who knows? Maybe his personality changed too," Nadine shrugged. "Besides, look at all the girls checking him out now... He could get over you soon if you don't do anything about it."

Rhonda glanced back at the crowd of giggling girls who were trying to get Thad's attention. She sighed. "I guess you're right. One date couldn't hurt anyways..."

"Yup! Now try to have fun. Do you know what you're going to wear?"

"It's like five days away, Nadine. Besides, even if it is a date, I don't know if I'd ever have to worry about what I wear when I'm meeting Curly," Rhonda said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Word had spread quickly that the now hot Curly had asked the school's princess, Rhonda, out on a date. It didn't take long for it to reach the ears of a certain green hat wearing boy. The news had reached him while he was eating lunch.

"WHAT?" he exclaimed, nearly choking on his chocolate milk. "Curly and Rhonda? But he was like the last person she would ever date!"

"Well," started Stinky, patting his best friend's back. "Her opinion of him might change, on the account that he's mighty handsome now."

"Bah. I still say that he's a freak though!" chimed Harold, when he wasn't too busy stuffing his face with his roast beef sandwich.

"The other girls don't seem to think that," murmured Gerald. He nudged towards the crowd of girls that were swarming Curly. They were all trying really hard to get his attention, but his eyes were only on Rhonda, who was for the most part oblivious because she was too busy talking to Nadine and the other girls.

"I still don't believe it!" groaned Sid, putting his face into his hands. "I'm going to ask her about it later."

"Don't worry, Sid," Arnold assured his friend. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

"I sure hope so," Sid muttered to himself as he got up to throw away his lunch. He just wasn't that hungry anymore.

* * *

"So you're really going out with the guy?" asked Sid for what was probably the third time that day.

"Yes, I am. And it's just going to be one date, I don't even know what's the big deal," Rhonda retorted.

The two were supposed to be studying for their math test together, but Sid was obviously distracted by other things. "You and I could do something instead. It'd be way more fun than whatever your 'date' thing is," Sid tried to persuade her.

"Our deal was that we hang out every weekend if we don't have dates. And I have a date, so that's that," she said, trying to focus her attention onto her textbook. What was cosine of pi again?

On the other hand, Sid was starting to get upset. "Why are you even going out with him? You've never considered it once when he was a geek! Are you really that shallow, Rhonda? Just because he got slightly better looking, you're willing to go out with him now?"

"What are you talking about, Sid? And why do I need to explain myself to you? I just felt like going out with him so I am. And don't give me any of that 'shallow' crap! If anything, aren't you worse? You went to homecoming with Irene just because she was "smoking hot"! So just shut up!" Rhonda's voice echoed through the large house.

Sid remained silent, not knowing how to respond. He knew that she was right, but it really bothered him that she was going out with Curly. Despite his craziness, he did care a lot about Rhonda. He was definitely going to treat her like a princess and now that he was decent looking, maybe they would end up dating for real.

Rhonda sighed, breaking the silence. "Just... go home. I don't feel like studying anymore," she said, motioning towards the door.

"R-rhonda... I'm... sorry..." Sid apologized, trying to fix things between them before it was too late.

"Just go," she hissed.

Surprise by the harshness of her tone, Sid fumbled to pack up his stuff. "Later..." he said, as he walked out the door. She did not respond.

* * *

When Saturday arrived, Rhonda was in her room, trying to decide what to wear. She wanted to look good, but not like she tried too hard or anything. Thad had texted her that they were only going to dinner and a movie, but he didn't tell her where they were going to eat dinner so she was a bit worried. If they ended up going to a nice place like Chez Paris, then she couldn't show up wearing jeans and a sweater. But if they were going to someplace like Big Al's, then she wouldn't want to be over-dressed and go in a semi-formal dress. She had considered texting him back for more details, but she wanted minimize their contact with each other.

In the end, she had decided to wear a pink floral dress with a denim jacket. She tied her hair into a side ponytail and admired her reflection in the mirror.

Then there was a sound at the door. Shortly after, her butler must have answered the door because he called out, "Miss Rhonda. Sir Thaddeus Gammelthorpe is at the door."

"I'm coming!" cried Rhonda as she quickly put on her strappy, white sandals. She hurried down the stairs.

"Wow... you look amazing," said Thad breathlessly. He was wearing a light blue button up and black jeans. He had slicked his hair back with hair gel and Rhonda had to admit that he didn't look half bad.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a small smile. "So where are we going first?"

"I was thinking we could go to Antonio's Pizzeria to eat and then we could go watch Moana. Does that sound okay?" he asked. She didn't notice, but his hands were slightly shaky as he was pretty nervous about finally going on a date with his dream girl.

"Sounds like fun," she said.

Thad had called for an uber to drive them around for the night. The two hopped into the car and went to their first stop.

"I actually never been here before," Rhonda admitted as they entered the cozy restaurant.

"Really? That's a shame. Their deep dish pizza is to die for," said Thad.

They sat down at one of the tables with their checkered pattern tablecloth. "Should we split an entire pizza? Or do you only want a slice?" he asked as he flipped through the menu.

Meanwhile, sitting in front of the restaurant with a newspaper to hide his face was Sid, who was totally not spying on them.

"Sid, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Stinky, who was sporting sunglasses and also holding up another newspaper.

"Sh! I can't hear what they're saying!" scolded Sid. But regardless of whether Stinky was talking or not, the glass was too thick for Sid to catch a word of their conversation.

"Wouldn't it be easier for you to just ask Miss Rhonda out on a date yourself?" asked Stinky.

Sid had completely ignored Stinky's question. "Why is she laughing? Did he say something funny? Or is she laughing at him?" grumbled Sid as he watched the girl laugh heartily.

"So you were so angry that I didn't invite you to my 'cool kids' party that you released all the animals from the zoo?" Rhonda chuckled. She then took a sip of her iced tea.

"Yup. I was a pretty crazy kid," Thad admitted.

"Are you sure you're not still crazy?" Rhonda teased.

"Maybe... crazy about you," he winked.

Rhonda rolled her eyes, but her face had reddened ever so slightly. "You're such a weirdo."

"But admit it. You're having a great time with a weirdo like me."

"Okay, fine. I am having a great time."

"And the Mediterranean deep dish pizza isn't half bad, huh?"

"Yes, the pizza was absolutely divine, Thad."

"So... maybe... you would want to go out with me again?"

"Hm... maybe."

"That's better than the blatant No's I get all the time, so I'll take it."

"You didn't even let me answer when you asked me out on this date!"

"But you're here, aren't you?"

"Were you always like this?" Rhonda asked, while staring deeply into his eyes.

"Like what, my fair maiden?"

"So... confident but suave... I don't know. You just don't seem like the annoying kid who asked me to homecoming more than twenty times."

"I was just trying to get your attention. I wanted you to notice me. But now that we're here, I'm willing to be myself. No more stupid stunts, I promise," he said, grabbing her hand. He placed a gentle kiss, that made her blush even more.

At this point, Sid couldn't take it anymore. He stormed into the pizza parlor and right up to their table. "Stop!" he said before realizing what he had done. He then looked down meekly and added, "I mean... uh.. fancy meeting you two here."

Stinky who had followed Sid into the restaurant chimed in, "Well, it ain't much of a meeting since we, uh, followed you here."

"Shut up, Stinky!"

"You were spying on us?" gasped Rhonda. "Sid, what's wrong with you lately?"

"I... I..." stammered Sid, awkwardly. Should he finally tell her about his feelings for her? That seemed like the only logical thing to do now. But before he could say anything his phone went off. It was a call from someone he hadn't spoken to in a while. Sid wanted to ignore it, but he had a feeling that he couldn't. "May I?" he asked. Rhonda was annoyed, but nodded.

"Hello? What do you want, Irene?" he asked when he answered the call.

"Sid... I think I'm pregnant... and I think you're the father," she said. It sounded like she had been crying. There was a long silence as he began to process the news.

"I'll come over..." Sid said softly, still not knowing how to take the news. He glanced back over at Rhonda and said, "...I have to go. It's an emergency..."

"Yes, please go. You are ruining my date with my goddess," Thad said with a frown. He could guess that Sid had feelings for Rhonda at this point and he didn't want him to ruin his chances with the girl he had been pining over for years.

"Sorry... bye..." Sid said as he made a break for it.

"Uh... have fun on your date," said Stinky as he tried to follow Sid out the door. "Wait up!"

"Sorry about that," Rhonda apologized. "I don't know what's up with him..."

"I'm pretty sure you have an idea," Thad said, placing a hand on her arm.

"Maybe. But I don't know. It's complicated." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She knew that he liked her. She could tell. And maybe she kind of liked him too. But he never got the courage to really tell her and maybe he felt like their friendship was too important to risk dating. And she felt that way too.

"But do you know what's not complicated? My feelings for you," Thad said, taking her hand and placing it on his heart. "I have loved you since you became the 'Queen of the Geeks' and I thought to myself, 'Wow. That girl is something. Beautiful and tough.' And my feelings for you, haven't seemed to change at all. I know I'm not the type of guy you usually go for, but those never turned out good. Why not give me a shot? That's all I'm asking for. A chance to show you that maybe I'm just what you need."

She looked at him, awe-struck by him for the first time in her life. He had grown a lot and it was not just that he was easier on the eyes. She took a deep breath. "Okay..."

* * *

Sid had ditched Stinky and ran all the way to Irene's place. He knocked on the door, completely out of breath. Fortunately, it was Irene who had answered it. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was red, making it obvious that she had been crying. She silently led him up to her room and pointed over to the chair. As he took a seat, she went into the bathroom and grabbed the pregnancy test in the sink. Sid saw the "+" on the test and nearly fainted in his seat.

"Sid... what do I do?" Irene wailed and threw herself onto him. "I can't be a mom. I'm only 15. I would look so fat!"

Sid put an awkward arm around her and patted her back. "You could either get an abortion... or you could keep it and we'll figure it out from there," he said.

He knew it was her choice, but he was not ready to be a father yet. And when could this had even happened? He hadn't even been with Irene before unless...

"Homecoming night. What happened that night? Why did I wake up in my bed without any of my memories?" Sid asked the crying girl.

"I... We... We had sex. I think," she stammered.

"You think?!"

"My friend, Jared... he slipped stuff into all of the drinks. Said it would make things 'more fun'. And after a few of those, I don't really know what happened. But I don't know who else the father could be if not you!"

"You let me drink something that was laced with drugs?!"

"I just wanted to have a good time... and I was upset that you seemed to be thinking about Rhonda... I mean, I was your date! I should be the one getting all of your attention! I thought it would help you forget about her."

"You're killing me, Irene. Holy fuck. This is ridiculous."

"How do you think I feel? I'm going to have this thing grow inside of me!"

"You should have thought of that before you DRUGGED me."

Sid pushed the girl away from him and stormed down the steps. "Wait! Sid! Don't go! Sid! We still need to talk about this!" Irene called out after him.

"Leave me alone! I don't care right now. I'm too fucking pissed off," he said, before slamming the door behind him. He punched the brick wall, which wasn't a very good idea. It hurt like a bitch and caused his knuckles to start bleeding. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he shouted, probably too loud in public. He got a few glares from a couple of mothers with their children. But at this point, he was too upset to care. His life was going down to shit anyways. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry for the really late update. I've been really busy with school and college apps. Once my break start, I should be updating more regularly. Also things are starting to get a bit more crazy... Hopefully you're all still with me. I couldn't help but bring in a now-hot Thaddeus. Also been craving Rhonda x Curly lately; but this is the story about Rhonda and Sid still. Thanks for the reads! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!


	9. Chapter 9

Rhonda Wellington Lloyd had a good time with Thaddeus Gammelthorpe. What's next? The end of the world?

No, but she did agree to go out with him again the next weekend.

If anyone asked her how she felt about Thad, she wouldn't say that she disliked him. She was no longer repulsed by his presence nor was she particularly intrigued by him. But this was the first time that she had felt this. Not love, not lust, not hate, not disgust, but something in between all of it. He was an easy choice. He was nice to her and was willing to do anything for her. He was a lot easier on the eyes now. Over the span of a week, he had became the perfect guy for her.

"Are you and Curly official?" Nadine had asked her as soon as they got back to school the following Monday.

"No. But I guess I agreed to another date next weekend," Rhonda said.

"What about Sid?" asked Nadine. Unlike Rhonda, she had thought that his crashing of the date to be kind of romantic. "Do you still like him?"

"I never said I liked-liked him. I just thought that he was someone I could get along with... and besides, he's apparently busy with Irene," Rhonda replied.

"I wonder why that is... Didn't Sid say that he was going to be done with her as soon as homecoming ended?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

Speaking of which, the odd couple were seen walking down the halls. Sid was carrying Irene's textbooks as she talked to him about something that he didn't seem too interested in. His eyes met Rhonda's for a split-second before he swiftly turn his head, avoiding her gaze.

She had tried contacting him over the weekend after her date with Thad, but he had ignored all of it. If he did reply, he would say that he was "with Irene" so he couldn't talk. Rhonda was not sure what had happened between the two of them, but perhaps she thought it was for the best.

Even though they had sat next to each other in geometry, they were still not talking to each other aside from an awkward but polite greeting. The class had ended without them, needing to say more than two words to each other. "Hey Sid." "Hello Rhonda."

Every once in a while, when Rhonda wasn't looking, Sid found his gaze landing on her. He wanted to tell her what had happened about the whole thing with Irene, but at the same time, he didn't want her to think less of him. He was ashamed. He didn't deserve to talk to her, even though he wanted to more than anything. He wanted to tell her to forget Curly and to go out with him instead. But now he was the father of another girl's child... He didn't think that she would be okay with that.

When the bell rang, he shuffled out of class without saying a word. The rest of the day went by painfully slow, and he had avoided talking to his other friends as well. Even Harold and Stinky, his best friends, were unable to talk to him. The only person who had a hold on him was Irene.

"What do you think we should name our kid? I'm thinking Sophia if it's a girl and Sean if it's a boy," she said a little bit too loudly during lunch.

It was not loud enough for the entire student body to hear, but it was enough for a handful of students at the table next to theirs to hear and start gossiping.

"Great, now everyone's going to know by the end of today," Sid groaned to himself. But worst, that meant that Rhonda was probably going to find out... And she was the last person he wanted to find out like this. Maybe he should try to find her before she would hear it from somebody else. He swiftly rose from his seat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Irene demanded.

"Bathroom," Sid answered blankly and left before she could argue with him anymore. He made a dash for it, and it kind felt like dejavu... but whatever. He had not seen Rhonda enter the cafeteria so he had no idea where she would be. He walked through the entire school and had found her, sitting on a picnic blanket with none other than Curly.

Earlier:

During lunch, Thad had found her as she was heading towards the cafeteria and whisked her away to the school garden. Apparently, he had made lunch for the both of them, and Rhonda was curious as to what he had prepared. Much to her surprise, he had made a very tasty looking Chaliapin steak over rice with a side of roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli. And it was delicious!

Back to the present:

"Sid? What are you doing here? And why are you all tired and sweaty?" Rhonda asked as the boy stormed out the doors.

"Uh... I was looking for you. Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, not even bothering to mention the whole picnic date she was having at the moment.

"Sure, uh... excuse me, Thad," she said, offering him a gentle nod before following Sid back inside the school building. "What's going on? Why do you feel like talking to me all of a sudden? You've been avoiding me all weekend and today!" She had not expected to start on him... But she supposed that she needed some answers too.

"... Things have been bad... lately," was all he could say at the moment. He couldn't figure out the right words to explain the situation to her lightly.

"Oh? Because it seems like you and Irene are doing rather well, if I do say so myself," she replied, while rolling her eyes.

"... Rhonda...I..."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm happy for you and I guess you can be happy for me because I am enjoying myself with Thad."

"Oh... I see... I just...," his heart broke a little as she said that. It was probably too late for him now. Nothing he said or did would ever be able to fix what they kind of had. But at the same time, he didn't think things could get any worse so he just let it out. "Irene drugged me on homecoming night and I don't know what happened but she said that she is pregnant and that I am the father and I don't know what to do and now I have to be responsible for an entire living thing that isn't a frog and I don't know what to do. Did I mention that I'm freaking out because I don't know what to do?"

Rhonda needed a moment to process the entire thing. "Hold up... Irene's pregnant!? And you're the father?!" she shouted rather loudly before covering her own mouth. Fortunately, the hallway was rather empty and the only person who might have heard that was Thad who was still waiting for her outside. "Holy crap, Sid... What are you going to do?"

"I just said that I don't know what to do!"

"Right... right... but are you sure that you're the father?"

"Well... I don't know... but she said that it could only be me..."

"I'm so sorry, Sid..." she said, pulling him in for a hug. "I wish I knew a way to help you..."

"It's okay," he said, holding her tightly. He didn't want to let go, but he didn't have a choice. Before his emotions could well up anymore than they already had, he pushed her away from him. "I better get going... Irene will freak out if I don't go back to her in the cafeteria..."

"Oh... okay..."

"I just wanted to let you know myself what was going on before you find out some other way... Bye."

With that, he left her rather speechless. Not knowing what to say to her friend, she walked back to the garden quietly. She took her seat next to Thad who was looking at her with expectant eyes. "So what was that all about?" he asked, trying to be nonchalant about it.

"Oh, it's nothing... The food that you made was to die for by the way," she said, changing the subject.

"Thanks! I could always make more food for you if you'd like."

"That sounds great..."

Author's Note:

Sorry for the really slow reply and the short chapter. College has been pretty difficult and I needed the break to focus on myself. I will try to keep up with this story as best as I can though I have to admit that I have been in a bit of a writing funk. Thank you all who have been supportive of me since the start and for those who had just started reading my stories. I appreciate you all so much and I will continue to write for you. So once again, I apologize for the shorter chapter that has less plot content. I had been on and off working on it for the past few months so I figured I might as well get it out so I can work on a better chapter for you all next time. Hope you all will continue to stick by me haha...


	10. Chapter 10

Soon, Irene had declared on all of her social media fronts that she was pregnant and that Sid was the father, despite his wishes to remain private. There were some weak "Congratulations" as well as some dirty looks thrown their way. Even the teachers and other faculty members had heard the news, which earned Sid some sympathetic glances. Sid began to distance himself from others, aside from Irene since she refused to let him out of her sight and a handful of his closest friends. And Rhonda? He could only look at her from afar, wondering how she was doing and whether or not Curly really made her happy.

Rhonda, for the most part, was happy. Her grade in trigonometry had went up thanks to the diligent tutoring of Nadine and her parents were letting her throw more parties again as a reward. Thad was treating her very well. He had been very patient and understanding. They weren't quite "official" yet, but one did not see Rhonda without Thad somewhere nearby. And she had a feeling that tonight was going to be the night he finally asks her to be his girlfriend. However, she still hadn't decided what her answer would be.

* * *

"Out of all the girls I could have gotten pregnant, it had to be Irene," Sid ranted for what must have been the tenth time to his best friend, Stinky. "Irene Fucking Hot Sandoval? More like Irene Fucking Insane Sandoval."

Stinky patted his friend's shoulder in attempt to calm him down. "Maybe it won't be that bad. Maybe you two will find some kind of agreement and you'll like each other a lot," he said.

"Seriously? Stinky, that is never going to happen. She DRUGGED me just because I was dancing with another girl! I'm only dealing with her because I don't want the kid to grow up with a father. She is the last person I would want to have as the mother of my children."

Sid slunk down into the back of the chair and brought his hands to his face. "This is all because I asked her to Homecoming. Why didn't I ask Larissa? Or Jackie? Or even that freshman girl, Wendy?"

"Or you know, the girl you actually wanted to ask? Miss Rhonda?" Stinky interjected to which Sid gave Stinky a menacing look. "What? It's true. Maybe if you went with her in the first place, Irene wouldn't have gotten jealous when you danced with her. Then she wouldn't have drugged you. Then you wouldn't have gotten her pregnant."

"Stinky, do me a favor and don't make me feel worse."

"Sorry, Sid."

Before Sid could say anything else, he felt his phone go off in his pocket. It was most likely Irene and although he really didn't want to talk to her right now, he knew that if he didn't pick up, she'd kill him for it later. "Hello?" he said into his phone.

"Siddy! Can you come over? I think I felt my stomach kick!" Irene said excitedly.

"Irene, you aren't even two months pregnant yet. There is no 'kicking' yet," Sid replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well I felt something! What if something is wrong with _our_ baby! You have to come over here!"

"You're overreacting, Irene. I'm not coming over. Call me when you have an actual emergency for once."

"Sid Gifaldi. If you-"

And he hung up on her.

Man, he had to admit that it felt good.

"Are you sure you wanted to do that, Sid? She is probably mighty mad now," Stinky said with genuine concern for his friend.

"I'll deal with it when I have to. For now, I just want to play games with my best friend without worrying about the /mother of my child/," Sid said, picking up the game controller. "Fire it up!"

* * *

Rhonda was wearing a sexy black, back-less dress. She had curled her hair and spent a good thirty minute on her make up alone. Thad had told her to look her best, and Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd was not one to take that lightly.

She was curious as to where Thad was taking her this time. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of sweet gestures and every single time she has to wonder how he will outdo himself the next time. She was putting on some diamond earrings when her butler announced that a certain Thaddeus Gammelthorpe had arrived.

She began to rush and did her best so she wouldn't have to keep him waiting. That, and her parents were home for the night and she would rather not have the awkward "meet the parents" conversation until... something happens.

She walked down her staircase and she could feel Thad's eyes on her. She slowed her pace, taking small, delicate steps nonchalantly, as she knew it would build up some sexual tension until she finally reached him.

He offered his hand and she took it as she stepped down from the last step. "How is it that you get more beautiful with every passing day?" he asked after kissing her hand.

"Until I hit my prime and everything goes downhill from there," she joked.

"No, my goddess. Even when you are old, I feel that your inner beauty will radiate and keep you forever young," he continued. He then led her to their ride for the evening: a sleek, black limo.

"Thad! We could have just used one of my family limousines! You didn't have to.." but she stopped because she knew exactly what he was going to say next.

"Only the best for you." Right on cue.

And so she let him whisk her away to another magical night.

* * *

There was a sudden pounding on Sid's door. He and Stinky exchanged looks and shrugs before Sid went to answer it. There he saw it. A truly hideous monster had reared its un-made up face. "What are you doing here Irene?"

"You did not just hang up on me! I should just kill myself and the baby right here! Is that what you want? Huh, Sid? You have been so in-supportive of me and everything!" she shouted a bit too loudly.

"Jesus Christ woman! I just wanted a day without your bitching, is that so much to ask for? Whose fault is it anyways that we are in this mess? You!" he retorted.

"It takes two to tango!"

"That shouldn't even apply since I wasn't in the right of mind. You took advantage of me!"

"Sid! You are so mean to me! How could you do this to the mother of your child." Irene began to cry and create a bigger scene that she had already just created.

"For God sake," Sid groaned as he ushered the girl inside his home so he wouldn't disturb his neighbors anymore. "Look, I'm only saying this because I care about our future son or daughter. If you aren't going to do an abortion, consider giving them up for adoption. You are definitely not ready to be a mother. And if it's possible, I'm probably even less ready than you are. Don't you think they deserve people who can at least take care of themselves as parents?"

"I... just wanted to start a family with you..." the girl admitted in between sobs. "If... I had your baby, you'd have to like me... I thought... "

"I'm not even go to touch on that level of crazy," Sid thought to himself while he remained silent so she would continue.

"Sid... the truth is... You're not the father..."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold up. What the fuck did you just say?"

"You... are... not... the... father..." she repeated in a slow, exaggerated manner.

"Then who is?" demanded Sid.

"Jared."

"That mother fucker. What happened?"

So Irene finally admitted the whole story. How she did drug Sid but while they were hardcore making out, he passed out before they had gotten too far. But since she was still in the mood for something, she and Jared got in on, without protection. Then she found out she was pregnant, and while she knew that Sid couldn't be the father, she decided to ask Jared to keep his mouth shut so that she could claim that Sid was the father of her baby. Jared, not wanting to join the side of parenthood, readily agreed.

It was a lot for Sid to take in. And while Irene tried to apologize for what she did, he promptly kicked her out without saying another word.

He walked back into his room where Stinky was waiting. He had definitely heard the shouting match, but he was polite enough not to eavesdrop on the entire conversation. "So what was that all about, Sid?" he asked, his eyes not leaving the screen.

"...I need to find Rhonda..."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Thanks for those of you who are still reading this. As you can probably tell, we are about to reach the climax of the story soon. This does feel a bit rushed, but inspiration has been hard lately. I am thinking of starting a new story though. Whether or not Sid and Rhonda are the main characters of that one too, I'm not sure yet. But it will be a Hey Arnold Fanfiction, so they were definitely be there! If you have any suggestions of what kind of story I should write, feel free to let me know. I like to take what you guys have to say into consideration. Wit that, thank you all again! Hope to see you soon!


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. I don't really have any excuses aside from school and writer's block. This is probably the last chapter of this story and I'm likely to start a new one so I hope you all will follow me for that one. Thank you all for all the support you have given me. (And your patience) Without further ado, the final chapter of A High School Story.**

Rhonda's phone would not stop ringing during her romantic dinner with Thad. She was constantly being called by and texted from Sid. When she finally had enough, she gave Thad an apologetic look and asked to be excused. Then she rushed her way to the bathroom and picked up the phone. "Sid Gifaldi. What. The. Hell. Do. You. Want?" she growled.

"Rhonda! Where... Are you?" he panted, apparently out of breath for some reason.

"I'm on my date with Thad!" she said, exasperatedly. "Sid, I don't have time for this."

"Where are you?" he repeated as if asking her again would change her answer.

"I'm on my date with Thad."

"Where are you?"

"I'm hanging up now."

"Rhonda. Please. I need to talk to you."

"You're talking to me right now!"

"In person. Face to face. You know what I mean. Please Rhonda."

The desperation in his voice made her heart pang. "Can't it wait til tomorrow?" she asked in a softer voice. "I think tonight is the night that Thad is going to ask me to be his girlfriend..."

"..."

"Sid?"

"... Do you like him?"

"I have been going out with him for the past few weeks."

"But do you like him?"

"I... I don't dislike him. And I don't mind his company. He's good to me." Her argument seemed so weak when she finally said it out loud.

"Rhonda, if you really want to be Thad's girlfriend, stay wherever you are. But if you don't, I'll be waiting for you at the pier." And then he hung up on her.

She stared down on her phone, trying to process everything that had just been said. Cur- er... Thad was a good guy. She knew that. He always had been, even when he was kind of a creepy stalker. If she stayed with him, she would never get hurt. Everything would be simple and easy.

But... that's how she knows it isn't love. And she knew what she had to do.

* * *

"Thad, I have to go," Rhonda said as soon as she got back to the table.

"But my darling, the night has just begun," he said with wide eyes.

"Thad... this isn't going to work... between us." She avoided his eye contact as she spoke. "You deserve better."

"But my goddess, you are the best."

"You deserve someone who is willing to give to you as much as you are willing to give to me. And even though I thought that I could try to be that person, I don't think I can." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thaddeus Gammelthorpe, you are too good for me."

She could feel the tears rolling down his face as she removed her lips from it.

"I... love you Rhonda. I love you more than anything," he said tearfully.

She nodded in understanding but could not say those words in return. "Goodbye Thad." And with that, she took off.

* * *

His heart was beating wildly, and not just because he ran straight to the pier. However, he could not stop to take a break. He was so anxious that he continued to pace back and forth like a mad man. He didn't stop until he heard a familiar clicking sound of a pair of heels that only a certain wealthy socialite would wear.

She looked perfect, even with her hair slightly in a mess from the rush. For only a moment, he was jealous that she would have gotten this dressed up for Curly, but then he remembered that she was here with him now. It wasn't until she reached him that he realized he had stopped breathing. He awkwardly gasped for air with his face turning red from the lack of oxygen and embarrassment.

"Sid," she said, looking at him doubtfully. Even so, he loved the sound of his name rolling off her tongue. "What did you want?"

"I should have asked you to go to homecoming with me."

"Wh-what?"

"If I had just asked you to go to homecoming with me, I wouldn't have ended up going with Irene. I wouldn't have left the dance early and had gotten drugged by her. I wouldn't have gotten tricked by Irene into thinking I was the father of her child. Everything would have been so fucking simple if I had just asked the only girl I've really had my eyes on since the fourth grade."

She stared at him, not knowing what to say to that. To start off with, she could not believe that Irene was crazy enough to stoop to that level. But she would take that to Irene herself, later.

"That's... all I wanted to tell you."

 _"That's all?"_ she thought to herself. _"That's still a lot of things to process."_

There was an awkward silence as their thoughts raced through their heads. Their hearts pounding, without realizing the other was just as anxious as they were. Each were begging that the other would say or do something. Then at the same time:

"Sid, I-"

"Rhonda, I-"

"Sorry! You go!"

"No, you!"

They both broke down laughing, probably the first time Sid had smiled in a long time. They grinned at each other. Both having a pretty good idea what the other wanted to say. Sid reached for Rhonda's hand and had their fingers intertwine.

"So what do you want to do?" she asked shyly.

"Anything as long as I'm with you."

 **Author's note:**

 **AAhhhhhh. Okay, that was cheesy and short and rushed. I'm really sorry. I might redo the ending and make it better but I really have been having a hard time writing for this story and I just wanted to wrap it up. Thank you all again for your support. Hope to see you all again soon.**


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